gOCKTON 


ROCKTON. 


ft 

nf  Spring-time 


BY    KEL    SNO\V,  ESQ. 


CINCINNATI : 
JENNINGS    AND    PYE. 

NEW  YORK: 
EATON     AND     MAINS. 


Copyright 

By  CRANSTON  &  STOWE, 
1891. 


To  all  those  who  read  it, 
and  to  all  those  he  wishes  would  read  it, 

(JTIjis  Booh  is  ^cbuafeb 

MY 

ITS  AUTHOR. 


1711957 


SI-     -J,.      ^U      -si>"     •si"      -si**      *si~      *sL*      -1*      -d-      -si-*     *sL-     "si**     *»!'-      *L"      "si"      *st*     *sL*     *sl^ 

.11  i  n  i » 1 1 1  iii  i.i  i  in  ii  i  II  i  II  i  it  I"T*  i  ii  i  ill  iii  rrrri  i  •  •  i  i  i  i  i  V 
--'---^ ----•-•-•-•-•-••-•-•---•-—•-•---•--•-•-•--••-•«''---*'•-•--•-•  -.-.— -»-*-^-«^-*-j-« ------   i 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE. 

AN  UNEXPECTED  DIVE, 7 

CHAPTER  II. 
THE  QUARTET  APPEARS, 26 

CHAPTER  III. 
A  SOMEWHAT  QUEER  MAN, 47 


CHAPTER  IV. 
A  TRAMP  TO  TRAMPS'  ROOST,  .... 


68 


CHAPTER  V. 
BUILDING  A  RUSTIC  BRIDGE 91 

CHAPTER  VI. 
SPRING  BEAUTIES  IN  BI.OOM, no 

CHAPTER  VII. 

A  VERY  RAINY  SPELL, 136 

5 
i 


6  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

PAGE. 

MORE  SUNSHINE  AND  FUN,    . 159 

CHAPTER  IX. 
MORE  FUN  AND  SOME  HORSE  SENSE, 178 

CHAPTER  X. 
SOMETHING  BETWEEN  WHILES, 192 

CHAPTER  XL 
THAT  THURSDAY— THE  START, 208 

CHAPTER  XII. 
THE  GREAT  SECRET  OUT 222 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
THEY  WERE  COOKS  An,, 241 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
SOME  BIG  GAME  BAGGED, 253 

CHAPTER  XV. 
THE  EVER-MEMORABLE  DAY  WINDS  UP, 265 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
A  DAY  AND  ANOTHER  DAY  AFTER, •  .  276 


ROCKTON, 


CHAPTER  I. 

AN  UNEXPECTED  DIVE. 

'PLASH!   SPLASH!! 

A   little    splash,   instantly    fol- 
lowed by  the  big  splash. 

"  Wow  !"  squeaked  a  voice,  in  a 
droll   tone   of  dismay,  out   of  the 
middle  of  the  capitalized  splash. 
"  Con — junctions  !"  it  went  on,  changing  to  a 
pugnacious   growl.      "Just   let    me  catch  that 
chap!" 

Then  a  boy,  standing  above  his  knees  in  the 
water  of  a  bit  of  a  pond,  began  wading  towards 
the  shore,  looking  around  sharply,  all  the  while  to 
sec  if  his  mishap  had  any  spectators.  Appar- 
ently no  living  thing  was  near,  except  a  cat- 
bird, that  was  flitting  among  some  alders,  and 

7 


8  ROCKTON. 

uttering  a  flat  squawk  at  almost  every  jerk  of 
its  jaunty,  mouse-colored  body. 

All  this,  including  even  the  big  splash,  was 
but  a  Lilliputian  tumult  in  this  big  world  of 
ours;  yet,  after  the  nature  of  small  things,  it 
had  in  it  the  beginnings  to  several  boys  of  what 
appeared  to  be  "tall  times,"  and  which  they 
allowed  afforded  them  "no  end  of  fun." 

It  was  the  afternoon  of  one  of  those  warm 
days  which  sometimes  gladden  New  England  in 
the  latter  part  of  April,  and  which  fill  a  boy's 
heart  with  unbounded  delight.  Rockton  was 
getting  the  full  benefit  of  it,  as  it  lay  stretched 
below  and  around  a  long,  rocky  ridge,  looking 
for  all  the  world  like  the  lazy  body  of  a  gigan- 
tic tramp  basking  in  the  sunshine.  Out  at  the 
east  was  a  cluster  of  houses  answering  well  for 
the  head  of  this  imaginary  Gulliver.  Nearer, 
and  under  the  ridge,  the  long,  business  portion 
of  this  great  town  formed  his  enormous  body, 
with  a  broad  street  shooting  out  to  the  south  for 
a  left  arm,  while  another,  running  in  the  oppo- 
site direction,  wound  like  a  bent  right  arm  around 
the  east  end  of  the  ridge  to  Northville  village. 
To  complete  the  illusion,  for  his  legs  there  were 
two  closely  built  and  slightly  diverging  streets, 
pushed  out  from  the  body  of  the  main  village 
through  the  valley  to  the  west. 

The  rocky  ridge  north  of  the  central  village 


AN  UNEXPECTED  DIVE.  9 

is  a  long,  high  swell  of  land,  not  very  abrupt 
in  some  portions.  Having  been  used  for  the 
grazing  of  cattle  in  earlier  years,  it  has  always 
been  known  as  Pond  Pasture ;  the  first  half  of 
the  name  being  due  to  the  existence  of  a  spring 
of  very  fair  water,  in  a  hollow  under  the  cliff- 
like  south  face  of  its  ledgy  crest,  which  little 
fountain,  re-enforced  by  the  melting  snows  and 
copious  rains  of  March  and  April,  is  at  that  sea- 
son broadened  into  a  shallow  pond  at  least  one 
hundred  feet  long  and  fully  half  as  wide. 

The  afternoon  this  story  opens,  Pond  Pasture 
was  not  a  pasture  at  all ;  for  the  street,  which 
has  the  whimsical  appearance  of  the  right  arm 
of  the  reclining  Rockton  giant,  having  stretched 
around  the  ridge  to  its  north  slope,  has  grown 
into  the  enormous  open  hand  of  Northville,  with 
twice  as  many  streets  as  there  were  overgrown 
fingers  on  the  hand  of  the  son  of  Goliath  of 
Gath.  Besides,  dwelling-houses  have  crept  up 
and  stuck  themselves  in  all  sorts  of  ways  on  the 
north  slope,  almost  to  the  top.  What  is  left  was 
a  fair  pasture  in  a  wet  season,  but  has  become 
only  a  big,  rough  common,  waiting  to  be  cut  up 
into  house-lots. 

When  the  boy  who  made  the  big  splash  was 
wading  out  of  the  not  very  clear  pond,  he  had 
reason  to  think  no  person  was  in  sight.  Reason, 
however,  is  frequently  at  fault,  especially  when 


10  ROCKTON. 

it  does  not  make  allowance  for  unknown  facts. 
If  this  boy  could  have  looked  through  the 
ledge  at  the  top  of  the  ridge,  where  it  is  tilted 
and  broken  into  fantastic  shapes,  he  would  have 
discovered  a  very  observant  fact,  and,  this  too, 
within  easy  range  of  his  aquatic  mishap. 

For  more  than  an  hour  there  had  been  a 
man  sitting  on  the  north  side  of  the  ledge,  in  a 
nook  which,  while  it  sheltered  him  from  the 
southerly  wind,  at  the  same  time  allowed  him 
the  full  benefit  of  the  early  afternoon  sunshine. 
By  bending  forward  he  could  look  into  the  hollow 
which  holds  the  little  pond.  He  had  been  di- 
viding his  time  between  his  newspaper  and  the 
view  from  his  outlook,  until  his  ear  caught  the 
sound  of  a  voice.  "All  aboard  for  Brazil!"  it 
shouted. 

Peeping  through  a  ragged  crack  in  the  ledge 
against  which  he  was  leaning,  he  saw  a  boy, 
who,  having  brought  together  from  somewhere, 
a  number  of  boards  and  pieces  of  timber,  had 
made  himself  a  raft,  and,  having  with  a  rash- 
ness too  common  in  boys,  stripped  off  his  shoes 
and  stockings,  was  teaching  himself  a  lesson  in 
navigation.  He  evidently  had  given  the  names 
of  different  countries  to  various  points  on  the 
shore,  and  was  industriously  poling  his  unwieldy 
craft  from  one  to  another  across  his  mimic  ocean. 
Just  as  he  was  midway  in  a  voyage  from  Brazil 


AN  UNEXPECTED  DIVE.  n 

to  Africa,  another  boy,  who  had  skulked  over 
from  one  of  the  irregularly  placed  houses,  and  was 
watching  him  from  behind  a  part  of  the  ledge, 
picked  up  a  stone,  threw  it,  waited  an  instant 
to  see  the  result,  and  then  scuttled  away  as  fast 
as  his  legs  could  carry  him. 

This  stone  made  splash  number  one  within 
a  few  feet  of  where  the  African  voyager  was 
pushing  hard  with  his  pole,  causing  him,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  to  tumble  overboard,  and  make 
splash  number  two. 

When  he  got  fairly  ashore,  and  had  picked 
up  his  shoes  and  stockings,  he  muttered :  "  I  '11 
bet  Jim  Mears  did  it.  I  '11  fix  him,  see  'f  I 
don't."  Then  he  scrambled  round  a  point  in 
the  ledge,  and  stood  staring  sheepishly  into  the 
laughing,  hazel  eyes  of  the  man  who  had  been 
watching  him,  and  who  said: 

"  Come  here,  Edward,  out  of  the  wind,  and 
dry  off  in  this  hot  sun." 

Doubtless  some  boys  would  have  "  cut  and 
run  ;"  but  this  sturdy  lad,  if  he  had  been  sur- 
prised into  a  cold  bath  by  the  splash  of  a  stone, 
was  no  coward.  Besides,  what  was  there  to  be 
ashamed  of?  What  he  did  do  was  first  to  laugh — 
a  good,  hearty,  boyish  laugh,  that  tilted  up  his 
rather  puggish  nose,  and  opened  wide  a  very 
sizable  mouth,  well  filled  with  strong,  white 
teeth — and  then  he  sat  down  in  the  sun  as  he 


12  ROCKTON. 

had  been  bidden.  Anybody  looking  at  him 
would  know  that  he  was  nobody's  bad  boy.  He 
was  about  a  dozen  years  old,  and,  as  stoutish 
boys  sometimes  do,  looked  a  little  as  if  he  had 
been  stuffed  into  his  clothes.  His  hair,  though 
short-cropped,  seemed  inclined  to  curl,  and  his 
broad,  good-humored  face  was  well  sprinkled 
with  freckles,  and  lighted  up  by  a  pair  of  honest 
and  fun-full  blue  eyes.  He  busied  himself  for  a 
bit  in  wringing  the  water  out  of  the  bottoms  of 
of  his  short  trousers,  and  then  asked  : 

"How  long,  Mr.  Armour,  have  you  been 
here  ?" 

"  O,  long  enough  for  you  to  make  a  voyage 
to  Brazil  and  half-way  from  there  to  Africa," 
was  the  reply.  "  You  made  me  think  of  a 
friend  of  mine — a  very  good  and  witty  man — 
who  made  a  voyage  to  Africa.  He  was  seasick 
nearly  all  the  time,  and  when  he  was  out  in 
mid-ocean  wrote  me  a  letter  in  which  he  con- 
gratulated himself  that  he  was  only  three  or 
four  miles  from  land.'* 

"  O  my  !"  said  Edward,  "  he  must  have  been 
awfully  sick  not  to  know  that  Africa  is  n't  farther 
away  than  that." 

"How  far  away  is  it?"  asked  Mr.  Armour. 

"O,  it  is  a  big,  big  way  off.  I  read  some- 
thing about  Stanley  and  the  Congo  River  in  a 
paper,  and  I  got  father's  big  Johnson's  Atlas, 


AN  UNEXPECTED  DIVE.  13 

and  Sarah  measured  it  for  me,  and  she  said  it 
must  be  'most  six  thousand  miles  from  New 
York  to  the  mouth  of  the  Congo." 

"No  doubt  Sarah  was  right,"  said  Mr.  Ar- 
mour ;  "but  how  far  were  you  from  the  shore 
when  you  stepped  off  your  raft?" 

The  fact  that  his  father  is  a  master  mechanic 
and  has  built  many  houses  in  Rockton  may  have 
helped  the  lad,  for  he  answered  quite  correctly. 

"  I  guess  about  twenty-five  feet." 

"  And  I  reckon  by  the  looks  of  your  pants 
that  you  found  land  by  going  about  twenty-five 
inches.  My  friend  didn't  say  how  far  he  was 
from  Africa,  but  how  far  he  would  probably 
have  to  go  to  find  land." 

"  It  would  have  been  mighty  wet  when  he 
got  to  it,"  commented  Edward. 

"Exactly, "said  Mr.  Armour.  "You  found  it 
so  when  you  got  to  it." 

During  this  conversation  the  boy  who  had 
played  the  part  of  a  catapult  and  then  run 
away,  had  ventured  out  of  his  hiding-place,  and 
was  standing  in  the  yard  before  the  house. 

"Hello!  Chumpy!"  he  shouted;  "what's  the 
matter?" 

Edward  jumped  up  and  shouted  back: 
"Con — junctions!" — and  got  no  farther,  for 
Mr.  Armour  broke  in  with  a  "  ha  !  ha!"  which 
was  full  warrant  for  the  strength  of  his  lungs, 


!4  ROCKTON. 

and  reaching  out  he  pulled  the  boy  back  to  his 
seat,  and  said:  "  Young  man  where  did  you  pick 
up  this  new  expletive?" 

Edward  grew  rosy,  but  he  answered  stoutly : 

"  Sarah  says  I  have  got  an  awful  bad  habit 
of  using  slang,  and  what  she  says  are  half-swear 
words.  So  she  has  been  trying  to  break 
me  of  it." 

"Nice  girl,"  put  in  Mr.  Armour.  "I  like 
her  very  much." 

"Yes,  she  is  as  nice  as  any  boy's  sister. 
She 's  kept  at  me  till  I  have  left  off  most  of  the 
words  she  does  n't  like.  I'm  a  little  peppery, 
'cos  my  hair  is  'most  red,  I  s'pose.  When  a 
chap  gets  started  kind'er  quick,  you  know,  '  con- 
found it '  is  the  handiest  thing  he  can  say." 

"I  know  all  about  it,"  said  Mr.  Armour,  "  for 
it  was  a  trick  of  mine  when  a  boy,  and  I  did  n't 
have  a  sister  to  help  me  break  myself  of  it,  so 
I  had  a  tough  job.  How  does  it  happen  that 
you  spout  con — junctions?" 

"That's  just  it,"  answered  Edward.  "I 
told  Sarah  that  '  confound  it '  would  come  out 
in  spite  of  everything.  She  told  me  that  for 
awhile  I  had  better  try  to  put  something  else  in 
the  place  of  it,  and — O  !  Mr.  Armour,  when 
you  were  a  boy,  did  n't  you  hate  grammar?" 

The  tall  man's  hazel  eyes  seemed  to  be  look- 
ing backwards  through  the  years.  He  drew  a 


-/f-V   UNEXPECTED  Dll'E.  15 

long,  deep  breath,  and  then  answered  in  a  low, 
kind  voice: 

"To  be  frank,  I  think  grammar  was  the 
study  I  understood  the  least,  and  disliked  the 
most." 

"  That's  just  me,"  said  Edward,  as  he  put  on 
a  comically  doleful  look.  "I  don't  understand 
the  stuff  one  bit.  I  keep  forgetting  faster  than 
I  learn.  Sarah  had  the  awfulest  time  to  get 
me  to  remember  the  parts  of  speech.  I  got 
them  'most  all,  but  I  stuck  on  conjunctions.  I 
kept  forgetting  this  so  fast,  I  never  should  have 
remembered  if  she  had  n't  made  me  take  the 
word  to  say  in  place  of  'confound  it.'  It  tjckled 
me  when  I  first  tried  it ;  it  sounded  so  funny. 
I  guess  that  was  what  helped  me  to  remember 
it.  Anyhow  when  I  got  started  with  con — 
junctions  came  up  real  easy.  So  I've  got  rid  of 
confound  it,  and  have  got  hold  of  all  the  parts 
of  speech." 

"Chumpy!  Chumpy!"  piped  out  the  boy  in 
the  yard,  "may  I  come  over?" 

"Isn't  this  a  new  name  for  you,  Edward?" 
asked  Mr.  Armour. 

"  It's  what  most  of  the  boys  call  me,"  he  an- 
swered, and  then  explained : 

"  When  I  was  in  Miss  Barber's  division,  she 
gave  the  boys  words  and  had  them  hunt  up  def- 
initions at  home,  and  then  called  us  out  on  the 


1 6  ROCKTON, 

floor  to  give  'em.  One  day  my  word  was 
'chump.'  I  looked  it  up  in  the  big  dictionary, 
and  thought  I  had  it  all  right,  and  was  going  to 
answer :  '  A  short,  thick,  heavy  piece  of  wood.' 
There  was  a  big,  woolly  caterpillar  crawling  up 
on  Miss  Barber's  shoulder.  I  was  tickling  all 
over  inside  thinking  how  she  would  jump  an' 
scream  as  soon  as  it  touched  her  neck.  When 
she  said:  'Edward  Holt,  define  chump.'  I  was 
all  flustered,  and— blundered  out,  'Chump — A 
short  thick,  heavy  boy.'  Then  they  screamed, 
Miss  Barber  and  all ;  and  she  sent  me  to  my 
seat.  Ever  since  they've  called  me  '  Chtimpy.'  " 

"  I  've  known  greater  misfits  in  the  real 
names  of  people,"  said  Mr.  Armour,  as  he  laid 
his  hand  on  Edward's  plump  shoulder.  "  I  've 
had  many  a  hearty  laugh  over  them." 

"Are  there  any  in  Rockton?"  asked  Edward. 

"  I  never  was  in  a  place  where  there  were 
not,"  was  the  reply.  "  Down  at  the  corner  of 
Bridge  and  Mill  Streets  is  a  liquor-saloon.  The 
man's  name  who  keeps  it  is  Trueworthy." 

"That's  so,"  put  in  Edward,  "and  I  read  in 
the  Rockton  Argus  that  a  fellow  they  call  Tru- 
man was  sent  to  jail  for  stealing." 

"  Good  men,  too,  have  misfit  names,"  con- 
tinued Mr.  Armour.  "Who keeps  the  dry-goods 
store  down  by  Northville  church  ?" 

"  Why,  Jabez  Long,  and  he's  just  the  pudgiest, 


Ax  UNEXPECTED  DIVE.  17 

shortest  man  in  town.  But,  O  my!  ain't  lie  just 
good  to  us  boys?  and  don't  \ve  all  like  him?" 

"You  are  right,  my  boy,"  said  Mr.  Armour. 
"  He  is  a  clear-headed,  big-hearted  Christian  man, 
happy  as  a  king  all  the  time,  and  doing  his  best 
to  make  everybody  good  and  happy.  There  is 
another  good  man  who  runs  the  barber-shop  just 
beyond  Mr.  Long's.  He  is  a  black  man,  and  his 
name  is  White.  He  is  an  upright  man.  He 
won't  open  his  shop,  and  he  will  go  to  church  on 
the  Lord's-day,  if  all  Northville  goes  down  town 
to  shave.  He  is  one  of  the  whitest  men  I  know. 
So  his  name  is  no  misfit." 

Just  here  "  Chumpy  "  doubled  up  as  much 
as  his  short,  thick  body  would  allow,  and  laughed 
until  every  seam  in  his  jacket  was  put  to  a  strain 
that  threatened  work  for  Sarah.  At  length  he 
panted  out : 

"  O,  Mr.  Armour,  have  you  seen  the  man 
who  drives  the  red  butcher's-cart  ?  He  's  the 
tallest,  lankiest  chap  that  ever  was.  They  say 
he  is  'mostseven  feet  high,  and  he  looks  as  though 
he  never  ate  a  bit  of  meat  in  his  life!  Father 
says  that  if  he  could  hire  half  a  dozen  carpen- 
ters as  tall  as  he  is,  he  could  get  rich,  for  he 
would  n't  have  to  build  any  staging  when  he 
puts  up  houses. 

Mr.  Armour  joined  in  the  laugh,  for  the  boy's 
description  was  hardly  overdrawn.  The  man 


1 3  ROCKTON. 

was  very  thin,  and  surprisingly  tall.  When 
he  stood  at  the  tail  of  his  cart  to  wait  on  cus- 
tomers, his  hat  towered  above  its  canvas  top, 
and  when  he  got  into  the  front  to  ride,  he  ap- 
peared to  draw  himself  in,  and  coil  his  long 
body  away. 

"Do  you  know  his  name?"  asked  Edward. 
Mr.  Armour  shook  his  head,  and  he  continued: 
"Why,  it's  Short!  His  other  name  is  Robert, 
and  so  most  people  call  him  '  Bob  Short.'  The 
boys  call  him  'Bobbed  Short.'  " 

"It  is  droll,"  said  Mr.  Armour;  "but  we  must 
be  careful  and  not  make  sport  of  people's  pecu- 
liarities or  infirmities.  I  like  fun — I  judge 
some  think  I  like  it  too  well — but  I  do  n't  like 
all  kinds  of  fun.  I  must  have  mine  of  the  clean, 
jolly,  health-giving  kind,  that  helps  one  to  be 
brave  and  true  to  duty,  and  loving  to  others.  To 
change  the  subject,  what  is  this  little  fellow's 
name  who  has  been  shouting  to  you  until  he 
has  got  tired  of  it,  and  is  now  sitting  on  the 
front  steps  looking  more  dejected  than  you  did 
when  you  waded  out  of  the  pond?" 

"  That 's  Tim   Mears— we  call  him  Chippy." 

"Did  Miss  Barber  tell  him  to  define  'Chip,' 
and  instead  of  answering  '  a  small  piece,'  did  he 
say,  '  a  small  boy?'" 

"  No,  "  replied  Edward,  "  I  'm  the  only  boy 
round  here  that 's  got  what  Sarah  says  is  a 


AN  UNEXPECTED  DIVE.  19 

lit'rary  handle  to  my  name.  When  Jim  Mears 
was  littler  than  he  is  now,  some  of  the  boys  found 
him  in  his  back-yard  crying  because  his  mother 
had  sent  him  out  to  pick  up  a  big  lot  of  chips 
when  he  wanted  to  play.  The  boys  took  hold 
and  helped  him,  and  now  they  'most  always  call 
him  'Chippy.'"  ' 

"  Well,  he  does  n't  appear  very  chipper  just 
now,"  said  Mr.  Armour.  "Why  does  n't  he  come 
over  with  us  if  he  wants  to?  Is  he  afraid  of  me?" 

"  I  s'pose  he  's  afraid  I  '11  pull  his  ears,"  was 
the  somewhat  indirect  answer. 

"  Pull  his  ears  !  What  for?"  questioned  Mr. 
Armour.  Without  waiting  for  an  answer  he 
went  on  :  "  You  ought  not  to  hurt  him  for  a  bit 
of  a  practical  joke  that  taught  you  how  much 
nearer  you  were  to  land  than  you  thought.  I- 
do  n't  think  tricks  of  any  sort  are  the  brighest 
kind  of  sport;  but  if  yon  play  off  jokes  on  others, 
you  ought  to  expect  they  will  pay  you  in  kind. 
I  reckon  you  have  played  many  a  prank  to  tease 
Chippy." 

Edward  indulged  in  another  "  chunky " 
laugh,  and  said : 

"  I  guess  I  have.  He  sits  in  the  seat  in 
front  of  mine.  T'other  day  he  was  studying 
his  geography  lesson  like  all  possessed,  for  it 
was  'most  time  to  recite.  He  's  always  leaving 
his  things  round  anywhere.  His  slate  was  on 


20  ROCKTON. 

the  floor  and  I  just  made  a  slip-noose  in  the  long 
string  there  was  on  it,  and  hitched  it  to  his 
jacket.  Just  as  I  got  it  hitched,  his  class  was 
called,  and  he  started,  and  the  slate  started  too. 
It  whacked  his  heels  and  made  him  give  a  big 
jump,  and  that  made  it  whack  the  desks.  My! 
wasn't  there  a  big  clatter?  and  didn't  I  expect 
to  catch  it  ?  But  just  as  he  turned  round  to  see 
what  was  after  him  the  noose  slipped  off,  and 
Miss  Barber  said :  '  Master  Mears,  I  wish  you 
would  learn  to  leave  your  seat  properly  and  not 
disturb  the  school  by  knocking  things  around  in 
such  a  heedless  way.'  My!  I  just  hugged  my- 
self to  think  how  slick  I'd  got  out  of  the  mess." 

"Of  course  Jim  pulled  your  ears  well  for 
the  trick  the  first  time  he  caught  you  out  of 
school,"  said  Mr.  Armour.  • 

"He  didn't  dare  to  try  that  sort  of  job," 
Edward  replied. 

"  Look  here,  young  man,"  said  Mr.  Armour, 
"I  took  you  to  be  made  of  the  right  sort  of 
stuff.  I  shall  have  to  treat  you  to  a  lecture. 
The  meanest  thing  in  boy  or  man  is  meanness. 
You  play  a  trick  on  a  school-mate  because  he 
is  n't  stout  enough  to  punish  you  for  it ;  and 
then  when  he  pays  you  off  by  another  trick,  you 
turn  round  and  flog  him  because  you  are  the 
biggest.  Honor  bright,  now!  Do  you  call  it 
generous  or  manly?" 


AN  UNEXPECTED  DIVE.  21 

"N-no,"  answered  the  boy.  He  did  not 
laugh.  Sarah,  had  she  been  there,  would  have 
felt  no  fear  of  extra  work  from  the  bursting  of 
the  seams  of  his  jacket. 

The  bright  hazel  eyes  of  Mr.  Armour 
watched  the  sober  face  of  the  lad  for  a  few 
moments;  then  he  broke  the  silence: 

"  There  are  kinds  of  fun  a  long  way  ahead 
of  practical  joking,  and  I  believe  in  going  for 
the  best  of  every  thing.  Remember  this:  If  you 
are  willing  to  give,  you  ought  to  be  at  the  least 
equally  willing  to  take.  Now,  my  young  friend, 
iny  lecture  is  done.  Suppose  you  invite  that 
other  joker  over,  shake  hands,  and  call  it  square." 

There  was  nothing  pugnacious  in  the  voice 
that  shouted : 

"  Hello,  Chippy  !    Come  over,  won't  you  ?" 

Chippy  was  off  the  steps,  through  the  gate 
and  across  the  field  "in  a  jiffy." 

Mr.  Armour  took  him  kindly  by  the  hand, 
and  Edward  also  offered  his  chubby  hand, 
and  said: 

"  All  right,  old  man ;  I  guess  my  ducking 
about  pays  for  that  slate  racket." 

When  Edward  had  put  his  stout  legs  into 
his  stockings  and  laced  up  his  shoes,  the  three 
stood  talking  together ;  and  looking  down  upon 
the  little  pond,  Mr.  Armour  said : 

"  When  Edward   went  overboard  in  such  a 


22  ROCKTON. 

hurry,  and  I  saw  him  paddling  like  a  duck  for 
the  shore,  I  thought  of  a  story  I  heard  when 
a  boy." 

Seeing  the  boys  evidently  expected  the  story, 
he  went  on : 

"A  great,  overgrown,  awkward  chap  from 
away  back  somewhere,  went  to  one  of  our  big 
sea-ports,  to  see  the  ships  and  find  out  what  he 
could  about  the  sea.  He  had  an  immense  long- 
ing to  be  a  sailor,  but  had  just  as  immense  a  fear 
of  being  hurt.  He  was  so  big,  and  appeared  to 
be  so  strong,  that  several  captains  tried  to  in- 
duce him  to  ship  for  a  voyage.  But  he  did  n't 
like  the  idea  of  being  far  from  land,  and  dreaded 
great  storms.  At  length  one  captain  told  him 
that  he  intended  every  night  to  anchor  so  near 
the  shore  that  he  could  sleep  on  the  land  if  he 
preferred  to,  and  that  all  the  time  he  would 
keep  so  near  the  laud  that,  if  there  should  be  a 
very  hard  storm,  he  could  wade  ashore.  The 
bait  took.  He  signed  as  a  green  hand,  and  went 
on  board  the  ship.  Qf  course  the  captain  put 
straight  out  to  sea.  All  was  bright  and  smooth, 
and  the  first  night  he  was  told  there  was  no  use 
running  round  the  shore  when  the  weather  was 
so  fine.  When  they  got  well  out  of  sight  of 
land,  a  big  storm  came  down,  and  it  became  very 
rough.  The  greenhorn  was  not  only  scared,  but 
seasick.  He  went  below,  and  would  n't  show 


AN  UNEXPECTED  Dll'E.  23 

his  head  above  the  hatchway.  The  mate  tried 
to  drive  him  on  deck,  but  failed.  Then  the 
captain  went  "below,  and  found  the  fellow  bellow- 
ing like  a  calf.  He  tried  to  reason  with  him, 
and  make  him  understand  that  he  was  in  no 
danger.  Greeny  wouldn't  be  pacified,  and  flung 
in  the  captain's  face  his  promise  that  he  would 
not  go  so  far  away  from  land  that  he  could  not 
wade  ashore.  On  this  the  captain  told  him 
there  was  nothing  under  the  heavens  to  prevent 
his  wading  ashore  if  he  wished  to.  'All  youv'e 
got  to  do,'  he  said,  '  is  to  go  on  deck  and  start 
for  the  shore.'  This  was  too  much  for  the  poor, 
scared,  seasick  fellow,  and  he  started  up  and 
blubbered :  '  Y-yoti  plaguey  old  fool !  Do 
you  suppose  I'm  ten  miles  tall  ?'  " 

"  I'd  like  to  go  to  sea,"  said  Chippy,  after 
his  laugh  at  the  story  was  over. 

"  Pray  tell  us  what  for?"  asked  Mr.  Armour. 

"O,  for  fun,"  was  the  reply. 

"  Just  what  I  expected  you  to  say,"  said  his 
questioner.  "  Now,  boys,  just  pack  this  away 
in  your  noddles  so  you  will  never  forget 
it.  If  you  do  anything  just  for  fun,  you  will 
be  disappointed  every  time.  Now,  Edward,  tell 
what  set  you  to  paddling  round  on  that  pond  ?" 

Ivhvard  looked  up  into  the  tall  man's  eyes. 
Some-thing  he  saw  there  gave  him  a  feeling  of 
confidence,  and  he  answered  :  "  I  wanted  to  go 


24  ROCKTON. 

into  the  woods  this  afternoon,  but  mother  said 
she  might  want  me  at  home,  and  I  came  out  here 
to  play  where  I  could  hear  the  bell  which  Sarah 
said  she  would  ring  when  mother  was  ready  to 
send  me  on  an  errand.  I  called  that  place  there 
a  cave  and  played  hunter  for  a  while,  and  then  I 
thought  I'd  make  a  ship  and  be  a  sailor,  and  I 
tried  to  remember  the  names  of  the  countries  we 
study  about — " 

"Tiiig-a-ling-a-ling,  ting-a-ling!"  broke  in  the 
bell,  stopping  the  boy  short  in  the  middle  of  a 
sentence. 

Mr.  Armour  took  each  lad  by  the  shoulder 
and  turned  him  around  till  he  faced  to  the  north. 
Then  he  said: 

"  Look  all  around.  As  far  as  you  can  see 
are  hills  and  woods.  What  a  splendid  country 
to  tramp  over!  I  am  a  genuine  tramp,  and  I 
like  some  kinds  of  boys.  How  would  it  do  for 
you  two,  and  perhaps  some  more,  to  join  me  in 
a  few  excursions?" 

"  Can 't  we  go  next  Wednesday  ?"  asked  the 
instantly  excited  Chumpy. 

"Please  let's  go  next  Wednesday  ?"  echoed 
Chippy. 

"  I  think  we  won't  go  so  soon,"  replied  Mr. 
Armour.  "  I  am  a  bit  like  John  Wesley  who  said : 
'  I  am  always  in  haste,  but  nevei  in  a  hurry.' 
If  you  two  will  meet  me  here  Wednesday  after- 


AN  UNEXPECTED  DIVE.  25 

noon  at  half-past  one,  provided  your  parents  are 
willing,  you  may  each  bring  another  honest, 
jolly,  stout  boy,  as  old  or  even  older  than  your- 
selves, and  we  will  talk  things  over  then,  and 
see  what  will  come  of  it.  I  am  afraid  that  bell 
will  ring  again.  Now  scamper." 

And    away    they   scampered.     Shortly  after, 
Mr.  Armour  walked  slowly  down  into  North ville. 

3 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  QUARTET  APPEARS. 

-  ,.'•"'  "* 

TV7  EARLY  every  Church  in  Rockton  has  a 
-^ •>  clock  on  its  tower.  As  Northville  thinks 
itself  the  very  finest  portion  of  the  town, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  it  regulates  its  high- 
toned  daily  routine  by  a  clock  in  the  tower 
A.  of  the  spick-span  new  church,  which  is  its 
latest  pride.  Many  church  clocks  are  like  the 
famous  time-keeper  that  Mr.  Gough  used  to  tell 
about  to  his  audiences,  of  which  the  owner  af- 
firmed :  "  When  the  hands  point  to  a  quarter 
past  two  it  strikes  nine,  and  then  I  know  it  is 
just  twenty- seven  minutes  past  five."  It  de- 
serves to  be  here  recorded  that  Northville  is 
justly  proud  of  its  clock,  for  it  is  reliable. 

Hardly  had  the  last  stroke  died  away  with 
which  it  proclaimed  the  noon  of  Wednesday, 
when  there  came  the  sound  of  many  feet  from 
within  the  great  square  school -house  on  the 

next  street.     Immediately  a  stream  of  young  life 
26 


THE  QUARTET  APPEARS.  27 

poured  out  of  its  wide  door-way,  and  overflowed 
its  ample  play-ground. 

Almost  the  first  boy  out  was  James  Mears. 
He  posted  himself  just  at  the  edge  of  the  noisy 
current,  and  waited  for  Edward  Holt,  when  the 
two  held  an  earnest  consultation.  As  parties 
of  boys  started  dinnerward,  there  were  calls: 
"Come  on,  Chumpy !"  and  "  Hurry  up,  Chippy  !" 
but  without  success.  As  a  laggard  came  through 
the  door,  James  said :  "  There  comes  Bun. 
I'll  freeze  to  him !"  This  Arctic  purpose  he 
proceeded  to  execute  by  seizing  a  boy  fast  by  the 
arm.  Meanwhile  Miss  Barber  was  coming  down 
the  steps  with  a  tall,  quiet-mannered,  fine-faced 
boy  beside  her,  who  appeared  to  be  some  thirteen 
years  old,  or  thereabouts.  Edward  said : 

"  Come  along,  Dolly  Grant.  We  want  to 
talk  with  you.  Something's  up." 

And  then  these  four  boys  walked  up  the 
street,  James  and  Edward  explaining  something 
to  their  mates  with  great  volubility.  It  could 
not  have  been  much  past  one  when  Edward 
Holt  made  his  appearance  on  the  ledge  in  Pond 
Pasture,  where  almost  immediately  he  was  joined 
by  James  Mears,  who,  out  of  breath  with  run- 
ning, panted : 

"  M-my  but  didn't  I  almost  miss  it?" 

"  What  got  in  your  way  ?"  Edward  asked. 

"Why,  I  just  got  in  my  own  way,"  answered 


28  ROCKTON. 

James.  "  I  'm  awful  careless,  mother  says.  I  'm 
'fraid  it's  true.  I  was  in  such  a  big  hurry  to  get 
my  dinner  that  when  I  went  into  the  house  I 
did  n't  see  baby.  He  had  pulled  himself  up  be- 
side a  chair.  I  blundered  against  it,  and  over 
he  went  with  a  squall  loud  enough  to  scare  a 
fellow  out  of  a  year's  growth.  'Course  I  did  n't 
mean  to  hurt  him.  Mother,  she  just  scolded, 
and  said  if  she  did  her  duty  she  would  have  to 
keep  me  in  the  whole  afternoon.  Crackey  !  that 
just  scared  me  worse  than  baby's  yelling.  But  I 
got  her  to  let  me  hold  the  youngster,  and  in  a  little 
while  I  rocked  him  to  sleep.  Then  mother  put 
him  in  his  crib,  and  told  me  to  eat  my  dinner. 
Did  n't  I  hurry !  When  I  was  done,  she  told 
me  I  might  come  over  and  see  Mr.  Armour,  but 
must  come  back  when  he  was  done  with  me." 
"  I  was  in  a  hurry  for  my  dinner,  too,"  said 
Edward.  "  Father  had  some  work  to  look  after 
down  town  that  made  him  late,  and  I  was 
'fraid  I  'd  miss  it.  After  he  asked  the  blessing, 

o " 

I  stuffed  as  fast  as  I  could.  They  all  laughed 
at  me.  Sarah  said  I  was  an  illustration  of  the 
theory  of  ev — everlution,  and  was  only  partly 
everluted  from  an  Anerconder,  for  I  was  swallow- 
ing my  food  whole.  Father  said  I  was  like  Mrs. 
Partington's  Ike,  and  had  a  great  verloserty  of 
appetite.  Mother  said  she  was  glad  I  was 


THE  QUARTET  APPEARS.  29 

going  to  see  Mr.  Armour  ;  but  if  I  choked  myself 
eating,  I  would  miss  the  fun." 

•  The  boys  congratulated  each  other  on  their 
mutual  escape,  the  one  from  suffocation,  the 
other  from  merited  punishment.  They  watched 
for  Mr.  Armour's  coining,  and  grew  impatient 
as  they  watched.  They  speculated  as  to  possi- 
ble causes  which  might  detain  him  altogether. 
Then  they  wondered  if  he  might  not  be  down 
town,  and  so  come  from  that  direction.  As  they 
stood  looking  down  the  south  slope  debating 
this  possibility,  the  subject  of  their  anxiety  came 
with  swift,  strong  steps  out  of  the  growth 
of  birches  that  still  fringed  the  east  part  of  the 
ridge.  The  new,  green  carpet  of  grass  gave  no 
sound  of  his  approach,  and  the  boys,  still  look- 
ing towuward,  started  with  surprise  as  he  said  : 
"  Well,  my  young  friends,  are  you  planning  for 
a  joint  voyage  to  Africa?" 

"  No,"  answered  Edward,  "  but  we  were 
afraid  you  would  n't  come — it 's  so  late." 

Mr.  Armour  laughed  as  he  pulled  out  his 
watch. 

"How  much  late  do  you  think  I  am?"  he 
asked. 

Neither  boy  was  able  to  tell  him  just  how 
much  he  was  behindhand,  but  each  affirmed 
that  it  was  so  much  as  to  cause  the  fear  of  his 


30  ROCKTON. 

continued  absence.  They  were  then  asked  the 
time  set  for  the  meeting,  and  both  gave  it 
correctly  as  half  past  one.  Looking  at  tfie 
watch  he  held  in  his  hand,  Mr.  Armour  said : 

"It  is  now  twenty-two  minutes  past  one. 
You  must  have  taken  an  early  start.  It  is  bet- 
ter to  be  too  early  than  too  late;  but  it  is  n't  well 
to  waste  time  by  being  'too  precipitate,'  as  my 
grandmother  used  to  say.  Remember  another 
thing :  Time  spent  in  waiting  generally  drags 
heavily.  I  have  passed  time  in  waiting  when 
fifteen  minutes  seemed  longer  than  an  hour 
ordinarily.  Always  be  prompt  to  meet  an  en- 
gagement, then  you  won't  have  to  wait  your- 
selves or  keep  any  one  else  waiting.  But  where 
are  the  other  boys  I  told  you  to  bring?  Per- 
haps they  are  not  as  eager  as  you  are;  or 
may  be  you  didn't  find  any  who  wished  to 
come." 

James  made  haste  to  say  that  he  had  the 
promise  of  Bun  Strong  to  be  on  hand,  and 
Edward  claimed  to  have  been  equally  successful 
with  Dolly  Grant.  Mr.  Armour  inquired  as  te 
the  origin  of  these  names,  and  was  told  that 
Benjamin  Strong  liked  buns,  and  was  inclined, 
when  he  had  pennies,  to  invest  them  in  this 
kind  of  eatable  ;  hence  the  name.  Young  Grant, 
he  was  informed  was  a  nice-looking,  well  dressed 
chap,  when  he  first  came  to  school,  and  wore 


THE  QUARTET  APPEARS.  31 

his  hair  in  "girl's  curls."  Right  away,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  he  was  dubbed  "Dolly,"  and 
as  his  name  was  Adolphus,  naturally  enough  he 
was  Dolly  still.  Mr.  Armour  pointed  to  the 
clock  on  the  Northville  Church,  and  said : 

"It  is  time  for  your  mates  to  be  in  sight." 

Instantly  the  two  boys  beside  him  looked  at 
each  other  sheepishly,  and  their  looks  said : 
"What  fools  we  are!  We  might  have  watched 
the  clock  and  known  the  time  ourselves." 

A  sharp  "Hullo"  at  their  right  caused 
James  to  squeal  with  delight: 

"Here  they  come!" 

Out  of  the  same  birches  that  had  sheltered 
the  approach  of  Mr.  Armour,  trotted  young 
Grant  and  Strong.  Mr.  Armour  shook  hands 
cordially  with  each,  but  their  impatient  mates 
chaffed  them  for  being  late. 

DoHy  good  humoredly  pointed  to  the  clock 
and  said  : 

"Edward  told  me.  to  be  here  at  half-past  one 
sharp!  Ain't  we  here  on  time,  Mr.  Armour?" 

"Right  on  the  dot,  my  boy,"  was  the  reply. 
"And  now  we  are  all  here,  we  will  just  get  into 
my  favorite  nook  for  a  little  chat." 

It  was  a  lovely  afternoon.  The  skies  were 
cloudless,  the  air  balmy,  and  the  grassy  slopes 
grateful  to  the  eye  in  the  velvety  green  of 
spring.  The  season  was  unusually  early.  Trees 


32  ROCKTON. 

and  shrubs  were  already  clothed  with  light 
foliage  and  musical  with  the  songs  of  birds. 
Benjamin  Strong  evidently  had  a  good  ear  for 
music.  He  wanted  all  to  listen  and  count  the 
different  birds  whose  notes  they  could  hear. 
James  expressed  wonder  that  birds  were  able  to 
find  their  way  south  in  winter,  and  come  back 
at  the  right  time  in  spring. 

Adolphus,  in  his  quiet  way,  suggested  that 
perhaps  they  did  not  all  go  away  in  winter ; 
whereupon  Edward  poohed  at  him  and  told  him 
that  there  was  'nt  a  bird  to  be  seen  in  winter 
"'cept  crows."  But  Adolphus  stood  to  his  guns 
without  flinching,  and  told  them  that  his  father 
had  seen  lots  of  birds  when  he  had  been  out  in 
the  swamps  in  the  winter.  This  caused  a  general 
appeal  to  Mr.  Armour. 

He  pointed  to  a  robin,  that  had  just  alighted 
on  a  solitary  cedar  about  one  hundred  yards 
away,  and  said : 

"See  that  little  fellow.  If  there  should  come 
a  cold  snap  and  freeze  the  ground,  he  might 
find  it  hard  picking.  However,  he  knows  how 
to  get  hir  'iving.  We  call  birds  of  this  kind 
robins,  but  they  are  thrushes.  They  are  soft- 
billed  birds." 

Here  Edward  struck  in  for  an  explanation. 

"Soft-billed  birds  are  not  intended  to  eat 
seeds  and  other  hard  substances  that  have  to  be 


THE  QUARTET  APPEARS.  33 

hulled  or  in  any  way  broken  before  they  are 
swallowed.  Boys  did  you  ever  see  a  hen's 
teeth?" 

"They  haven't  got  any"  cackled  Edward. 
"I  came  into  the  house  one  day  when  there 
was  company  and  went  to  tumbling  things 
'round  to  find  niy  ball.  Sarah  had  me  out  in 
the  hall  in  a  jiffy,  and  told  me  that  she  believed 
gentlemanly  boys  were  about  as  scarce  as  hen's 
teeth.  I  went  out  in  the  stable  and  caught  one 
of  our  old  biddies,  and  she  had  n't  a  tooth  in 
her  head.  I  thought  p'r'aps  she  'd  lost  'em 
'cause  she  was  old  ;  so  I  caught  a  pullet,  but 
she  was  just  as  bad  off." 

All  laughed  heartily  at  the  boy's  lesson  in 
natural  history,  and  Mr.  Armour  advised  him  as 
often  as  he  saw  a  hen,  at  least  to  think  about 
good  manners.  He  then  continued  his  remarks 
about  birds. 

"Hen's  teeth,  you  see,  are  really  in  the  crop 
or  craw.  Gravel  and  other  hard  and  sharp 
substances  serve  to  grind  up  food.  The  hard- 
billed  bird  cracks  his  seeds  before  he  swallows 
them.  Soft-billed  birds  eat  worms,  grubs, 
insects,  and  their  eggs ;  besides  they  eat  fruits. 
This  is  for  general  diet.  All  birds,  more  or  less, 
I  think,  eat  worms,  insects,  and  fruits.  Some 
hard  billed-birds  go  south.  The  bobolinks  are 
the  famous  rice-birds  some  people  think  such 


34  ROCKTON. 

nice  eating.  I  am  told  that  nowadays  they 
shoot  large  numbers  of  the  English  sparrows, 
and  serve  them  in  restaurants  for  genuine  rice- 
birds.  I  was  taught  when  a  boy  that  all  our 
song-birds  went  south  in  winter,  but  it  is  a 
mistake.  That  robin  that  you  scared  away 
when  you  laughed  at  Edward  may  not  have 
been  farther  south  than  some  part  of  Connecticut, 
or  New  Jersey  at  the  farthest.  Goldfinches  and 
linnets  are  said  to  go  into  the  thickets,  where 
they  are  well  sheltered." 

Here  young  Strong,  who  had  been  listening 
with  mouth  wide  open,  asked  : 

"What  do  they  get  to  eat?" 

"Trust  Bun  to  think  "of  eatables,"  chipped 
in  Chippy. 

"Well,"  continued  Mr.  Armour,  "it  is  quite 
a  matter  to  think  of.  Bird  or  boy  can't  get  along 
a  great  while  without  food.  So  the  great 
Father  kindly  cares  for  all.  Thistle-heads, 
grasses,  the  various  kinds  of  golden-rod,  and 
hundreds  of  plants  I  can't  think  of  or  don't 
know  the  names  of,  are  full  of  seeds.  These 
are  food  for  the  birds,  and  when  the  snow 
covers  the  ground  they  know  enough  to 
fly  straight  to  Dame  Nature's  cupboards, 
just  as  a  hungry  boy  goes  to  his  mother's 
clipboard." 

"  If  they  do  get  enough  to  eat,  I  should  think 


THE  QUARTET  APPEARS.  35 

they  would  freeze  to  death,"  was  the  comment 
of  Edward. 

To  this  Mr.  Armour  replied : 

"You  can  judge  whether  they  are  likely  to 
freeze  by  what  you  know.  The  sparrows  stand 
our  roughest  winters  without  going  into  the 
swamps.  Perhaps  it  is  because  they  are  noisy, 
pugnacious  pests,  that  they  do  n't  freeze.  I 
have  known  them  to  roost  behind  rny  blinds  on 
the  iron  fastenings  when  the  mercury  was  ten 
degrees  below  zero,  and  they  came  out  in  the 
morning  as  lively  and  impudent  as  ever.  Par- 
tridges find  shelter  in  the  deep  snow  when  it  is 
very  cold.  What  they  do  when  we  have  an  open 
winter  I  do  n't  know.  I  think  they  are  not 
badly  off.  I  have  been  in  very  thick  woods,  in 
valleys  and  on  sheltered  hill-sides,  when  a 
regular  blizzard  was  blowing  outside,  and  found 
these  spots  still  and  quite  warm.  Anyway,  the 
birds  do  n't  freeze ;  for  in  some  of  the  tramps  I 
hope  we  may  enjoy  together,  we  will  be  sure  to 
see  large  numbers  of  them." 

This  reference  to  tramps  set  the  boys  to 
talking  excitedly — at  least  all  but  young  Grant. 
Evidently  he  was  more  mature  and  better  in- 
formed than  the  others,  though  he  joined  with 
them  in  hearty  good  fellowship. 

James  wished  they  could  all  start  for  Africa  at 
once.  When  Mr.  Armour  asked  him  what  he 


36  'ROCKTON. 

thought  he  could  find  there  to  interest  him,  he 
replied : 

"O,  lions,  tigers,  elephants,  rhinoceroses, 
hipperpottermuses,  and  crokerdiles." 

"You  think  there  would  be  big  fun  in  finding 
all  these,  do  you  ?" 

'"Course  I  do,"  and  his  black  eyes  snapped 
and  shone. 

"What  fun  would  there  be  if  a  lion,  tiger,  or 
an  elephant  should  chase  you  ?" 

"I'd  shoot  him."  This  very  courageously, 
and  a  look  as  if  he  wished  the  biggest  possible 
elephant  was  just  then  coming  towards  him. 

Mr.  Armour  laughed  in  a  queer  way  that 
generally  set  others  to  laughing,  and  said  : 

"If  I  am  not  mistaken,  last  Saturday  after- 
noon I  saw  a  chap  about  the  size  of  James  Hears 
running  away  from  this  very  spot,  for  fear  he 
would  be  hurt.  But  perhaps  he  saw  something 
bigger  than  an  elephant." 

The  bluster  went  out  of  the  little  fellow  so 
completely,  and  he  shrank  into  such  a  dejected- 
looking  boy,  that  Mr.  Armour  hushed  Edward 
and  Benjamin,  who  began  to  chaff  him,  and  said : 

"  It  was  too  bad  for  me  to  make  a  point  that 
way.  I  think  he  is  a  brave  man  who  runs  away 
when  he  can  do  no  good  by  staying  to  get  hurt. 
An  Irishman  said  he  had  rather  be  a  living 

O 

coward  than  a  dead  hero.     I  do  n't  believe  in 


THE  QUARTET  APPEARS.  37 

being  any  kind  of  a  coward.  There  are  times 
when  it  is  more  courageous  to  run  than  to  fight. 
If  one  of  the  African  crocodiles  that  James  would 
like  to  see,  were  coming  for  us  just  now,  with 
great  'openness  of  countenance,'  and  evidently 
very  hungry,  I  might  wish  to  see  him  as  much 
as  any  one,  but  I  would  prefer  not  to  furnish  him 
a  dinner,  and  would  get  out  of  his  way  as  fast  as 
might  be  needful." 

Sunshine  having  returned  to  James's  face,  and 
the  tongues  of  all  the  boys  set  freshly  to  wag- 
ging, they  talked  of  the  wonders  strewn  through 
this  big  world,  of  which  they  had  read  or  heard, 
while  their  companion  quietly  listened  and  made 
mental  notes.  At  length  young  Grant,  in  a 
respectful  way,  asked  him  if,  when  a  boy,  he  had 
ever  longed  to  go  and  see  some  of  the  big  sights,  or 
do  some  of  the  wonderful  things  he  heard  about. 

"I  think"  was  the  reply,  "that  he  would  be 
a  very  dull  boy  who  never  did.  Boys  were  born 
to  do  something.  It  is  this  longing  for  some- 
thing that  they  think  great  or  noble  which,  if  it 
is  rightly  guided,  will  help  to  make  them  true 
men.  I  read  the  other  day  of  a  bit  of  a  chap 
who  hoarded  his  pocket-money  until  he  could 
buy  two  pistols.  Then  he  buckled  on  a  belt, 
stuck  in  it  the  pistols  and  a  carving  knife,  bor- 
rowed his  father's  double-barreled  gun  and 
started  off  on  foot  for  the  West,  to  kill  and 


38  ROCKTON. 

scalp  some  Indians.  It  is  this  spirit  of  adven- 
ture, rightly  guided,  that  has  given  the  world 
such  men  as  Columbus,  Magellan,  Cook,  Wash- 
ington, Franklin,  Livingstone,  Stanley — in  fact, 
all  its  good  and  great  men.  I  felt  some  of  it  when 
a  boy,  but  it  didn't  develop  much  in  any  direc- 
tion. My  first  experience  in  running  away  from 
home  cured  me  of  all  desire  to  repeat  it ;  just  as 
James,  if  he  should  hunt  up  a  crocodile  and 
be  eaten  by  him,  would  be  completely  cured  of 
the  desire  to  see  him." 

This  confession  of  juvenile  obliquity  was 
followed  by  a  bombardment  of  questions  from 
the  boys  that  did  not  cease  until  he  capitulated 
and  told  the  story  of  his  attempted  exploits. 

"  When  I  was  a  little  shaver,"  he  proceeded, 
"I  thought  it  would  be  wonderfully  fine  to  be 
my  own  master  and  go  anywhere,  or  do  any- 
thing I  pleased.  Our  house  was  on  a  street  at 
the  edge  of  the  village.  I  used  to  look  across 
the  fields  and  a  great  sand  plain,  and  see  big 
hills  away  to  the  west,  and  I  was  always  long- 
ing to  travel  and  meet  with  some  wonderful  ad- 
ventures. One  day  things  did  n't  go  to  my  lik- 
ing. I  felt  mean  and  snappish,  and  threatened 
to  run  away.  Mother  told  me  I  need  n't  run 
away;  I  might  go,  and  welcome.  When  I  pro- 
tested that  I  would  never  come  back,  she  said 
she  was  all  the  more  willing  for  me  to  go.  I 


THE  QUARTET  APPEARS.  39 

got  my  cap  and  said  good-bye.  There  was  just 
the  queerest  look  in  her  eyes  when  she  said 
that,  as  I  never  was  coming  back,  I  had  better 
take  some  doughnuts  in  my  pocket.  She 
brought  them  and  I  stuffed  two  or  three  away. 
Then  I  got  my  bow  and  arrows  to  shoot  my 
game,  stuck  my  little  hatchet  in  the  belt  of  my 
blouse,  for  a  tomahawk,  and  started  across  the 
fields.  I  remembered  that  I  had  n't  kissed  my  little 
sister  good-bye,  and  was  almost  a'  mind  to  turn 
back  and  do  so ;  but  I  thought  it  would  n't  be  manly, 
and  so  I  pulled  a  stifFupper  lip  and  went  on.  Then 
I  thought  mother  seemed  glad  to  be  rid  of  me, 
and,  as  I  had  been  cross  and  peevish  before,  the 
first  thing  I  knew  I  was  bawling.  Crying  and 
jumping  a  ditch  did  n't  go  well  together.  I 
stubbed  my  toe,  tumbled  in  the  ditch,  broke 
my  bow,  and  got  wet  in  a  very  sudden  and  dis- 
heartening manner.  But  I  was  bound  to  run 
away !  At  last  I  got  across  the  sand  plain. 
Then  I  sat  down,  hot,  tired  and  hungry !  How 
good  those  doughnuts  tasted !  Then  I  was 
half  crying  again  as  I  thought  I  should  never 
eat  another.  It  made  me  feel  desperate,  and  I 
got  up  and  trudged.  Up  through  the  pastures 
on  the  big  hill  I  went.  It  grew  hot.  I  thought 
it  must  be  about  ten  o'clock.  I  lay  down  under 
a  bush,  and  thought;  and  then  all  was  blank  for 
awhile,  till  a  big  bug  crawled  on  my  nose  and 


40  ROCKTON. 

woke  me  up.  A  striped  snake  wriggled  out 
from  under  another  bush  close  by,  and  that 
brought  me  to  my  feet.  More :  it  made  me 
afraid  of  bushes  ;  there  might  be  more  snakes ! 
I  was  thirsty  ;  worse  still,  I  was  hungry  and  had 
no  doughnuts !  I  thought  I  would  go  into  an- 
other pasture,  and  see  if  I  could  find  some 
berries.  I  got  over  or  under  the  bars,  and  had 
gone  a  little  way  when  a  cow  came  out  of  a 
clump  of  bushes,  shaking  her  head  at  me,  as  I 
then  thought  (now  I  know  it  was  because  of  the 
flies),  and  I  ran  for  the  fence,  shaking  all  over. 
When  I  got  on  the  other  side  of  the  fence,  and 
saw  no  cows  or  snakes,  I  sat  down  on  a  hump 
of  grass  to  rest.  In  a  few  moments  I  felt  some- 
thing running  up  my  trowser's  leg,  and  then 
came  an  awful  nip !  I  jumped  and  screamed 
and  slapped.  I  had  been  sitting  within  a  foot 
of  a  black  ant's  nest,  and  one  of  their  sentinels 
had  felt  insulted  at  the  intrusion.  By  this 
time  I  did  n't  feel  a  desire  to  go  into  any  pas- 
ture, lie  under  any  bush,  or  sit  down  on  any- 
thing. I  thought  of  mother — how  I  longed 
to  see  her ! — of  father,  and  of  baby  sister.  Of 
course,  I  had  run  away,  and  never  should  see 
them  again.  Then  I  cried  some  more.  O  dear ! 
There  was  my  pet  kitten '  Why  had  n't  I 
brought  it  along?  O,  worse  and  worse  !  was  n't 
this  the  very  afternoon  my  jolly  uncle  Charles, 


Tin:  O  f  'A K TET  APPEARS.  4 1 

mother's  youngest  brother,  had  promised  to  take 
ine  to  ride  over  to  Firetown!  By  this  time  I 
wasn't  crying;  I  was  just  bellowing.  I  forgot 
all  about  running  away,  and  put  all  my  tired, 
tear-soaked  energies  into  running  home.  How 
long  the  way  seemed  !  How  heavy  my  aching 
feet !  I  was  the  gladdest  boy  in  America  when 
I  got  into  our  back  yard.  I  crept  into  the 
house,  forgetting  the  hatchet,  still  sticking  in 
my  belt,  sat  down  in  my  little  chair  in  the 
kitchen,  and  went  on  with  my  boo-hoo  solo. 
By  and  by  mother  came  in  to  get  supper  ready. 
After  awhile  she  asked  : 

"  'Henry,  did  you  see  your  uncle  Charles 
this  afternoon  ?' 

"'N-n-no!     Boo!     hoo!     boo!     ho — o — oo  !' 

"  'He  came  round  with  his  gray  colt  to  give 
you  a  ride.  If  he  didn't  find  you,  I  presume  he 
took  your  cousin  William.' 

"  Gall  and  wormwood  all  this  !  Did  n't  I 
call  myself  all  sorts  of  hateful  names ;  and  cried 
until  I  fell  asleep  in  my  chair.  I  dreamed  I 
was  away  over  on  the  hill-side,  and  was  running 
away  from  a  big  snake,  when  a  cow  came  out  of 
the  bushes  and  caught  me  on  her  horns,  and  was 
tossing  me  up  in  the  air.  Just  as  I  screamed, 
'  I  want  to  go  home !'  I  woke  up,  and  mother 
was  shaking  ine  and  telling  me  : 

"  '  Father  has  come  home,  and  supper  is  ready.' 
4 


42  ROCKTON. 

11 1  was  too  tired  to  eat.  My  head,  back, 
legs,  and  feet  ached — what  part  of  me  didn't 
ache?  My  face  and  neck  were  sun-burnt.  It 
was  a  successful  treatment  by  counter-irritation. 
After  mother  heard  me  sob  through  my  prayer, 
and  laid  me  in  my  bed,  I  put  my  arms  around 
her  neck  and  told  her  I  never  would  run  away 
again.  Just  before  I  dropped  to  sleep  I  heard 
father  and  mother  talking  and  laughing.  He  said 
something  which  sounded  like  '  radical  cure  if 
there  is  anything  left  of  the  boy,'  to  which 
mother  replied — I  can  hear  her  sweet,  low  voice 
now — '  There 's  the  hatchet  and  the  experi- 
ence.' She  was  right.  I  have  the  hatchet 
laid  away  carefully,  and  I  have  n't  lost  the  ex- 
perience." 

The  quartet  of  boys  unanimously  voted 
that  Mr.  Armour's  story  was  "  first-rate,"  and 
then  returned  to  their  talk  about  exciting  ad- 
ventures. After  awhile  Mr.  Armour  asked 
them  if  there  was  not  some  boy  who  could  be 
invited  to  join  them  to  whom  it  would  be  a 
treat.  As  he  put  it:  "Some  good-hearted 
youngster,  who  does  n't  have  as  many  mates  or 
chances  for  fun  as  yourselves." 

Edward  suggested  that  four  boys  were 
enough.  Mr.  Armour's  face  wore  a  peculiar  ex- 
pression. Some  people  thought  nearly  every- 
thing about  him  peculiar.  Young  Grant,  talk- 


THE  QUARTET  APPEARS.  43 

ing  with  his  mother  about  him,  said :  "  He 
doesn't  say  anything  sometimes  ;  but  he  looks 
just  like  a  man  does  when  he  is  putting  down 
something  in  a  memorandum-book  that  he  means 
to  be  careful  to  remember." 

When  Chumpy  made  his  ''close  corpora- 
tion "  remark,  the  eyes  of  this  tall  man  made  a 
note  which  read  like  this:  "Humph!  Selfish 
young  man,  are  you?  Must  take  that  ugly 
kink  out!" 

Benjamin  Strong  suggested  that  Brick 
Walters  might  be  the  right  boy  to  be  invited, 
as  he  had  the  hardest  chance,  and  this  because 
his  mother  was  poor  and  had  to  keep  him  busy 
with  little  chores  most  of  the  time  when  out  of 
school,  so  that  he  could  n't  play  as  much  as 
other  boys,  and,  hence  seemed  to  be  "  kinder 
lonely  like." 

The  note  made  by  Mr.  Armour's  eyes  was 
this:  "Good!  You  may  be  a  bit  greedy,  but 
you  are  generous." 

James  objected  that  Brick's  mother  "does 
washing "  This  chip  must  have  hit  Mr.  Ar- 
mour in  the  eyes  for  instead  of  making  a  note, 
they  blazed  at  poor  Chippy  with  almost  fire 
enough  to  burn  him  as  he  said : 

"  Get  that  sort  of  wickedness  out  of  your 
heart  and  head  at  once.  I  have  to  depend  on 
Mrs.  Walters  to  keep  me  clean.  I'm  bound  at 


44  ROCKTON. 

least  to  respect  those  I  have  to  depend  upon. 
If  anything,  the  fact  I  do  depend  on  them  would 
make  them  better  than  myself.  There  is  no 
woman  in  Rockton  more  worthy  of  respect  than 
Mrs.  Walters,  and  she  is  the  queen  of  laundresses 
besides.  The  boy  who  doesn't  respect  her, 
can 't  travel  with  me  n  —  how  James's  chin 
dropped ! — "  unless  I  can  cure  him  of  such  misera- 
ble foolishness." 

Adolphus,  when  asked,  gave  a  good  account 
of  young  Walters,  and  Mr.  Armour  pulled  out 
two  packages  from  his  coat-pocket,  and  said : 

"  I  am  going  to  plant  some  beans  in  the 
garden  of  the  house  where  I  board.  I  bought 
these  as  I  came  along.  You  boys  are  my  Club 
of  Tramps,  and  no  other  boy  can  come  in  with- 
out your  vote.  Master  Strong  proposes  the 
name  of  Bernard  Walters."  Here  he  gave  each 
boy  a  black  and  a  white  bean.  "You  are  now 
to  vote  on  the  question  of  the  admission  of  this 
candidate.  My  hat  is  the  ballot-box.  The 
white  beans  are  for  admission,  the  black  are 
against.  If  there  is  a  black  bean  in  the  hat  the 
candidate  is  rejected." 

He  passed  the  hat  around,  and  each  boy  put 
his  hand  in  it.  When  he  emptied  it  on  the 
grass,  four  white  beans  dropped  out,  and  he  said: 

"  The  ballot  is  clear,  and  Bernard  Walters 
is  elected  a  Tramp." 


THE  QUARTET  APPEARS.  45 

\Yhen  asked  why  this  new  member  was 
called  Brick,  Edward  said  : 

"  When  he  first  came  to  school  we  called 
him  Brick- top,  'cause  his  hair  is  red.  But  one 
day  a  big  boy  was  pestering  Gracie  Brown,  and 
knocked  her  down  in  the  mud,  and  he  just 
pitched  in  and  walloped  him.  Miss  Barber 
punishes  us  awfully  for  fighting,  but  when 
Gracie  told  her  story,  she  only  patted  him  on 
the  head  and  called  him  a  perfect  brick.  So 
now  \ve  'most  always  call  him  Brick." 

Mr.  Armour  then  had  the  boys  look  to  the 
east,  and  told  them  that  the  wide  range  of  wild 
land  in  that  direction  would  be  explored  on 
their  first  tramp>  He  further  told  them  that, 
north  and  west,  there  were  great  stretches  of 
unsettled  country,  with  ponds  and  streams,  and 
many  natural  curiosities,  which  could  supply 
amusement  and  instruction  for  more  tramps 
than  they  could  find  time  to  take. 

Before  this  meeting  of  the  Tramps  broke 
up,  he  said: 

"  I  am  captain  of  this  squad,  and  I  expect 
every  boy  to  obey  orders  like  a  soldier.  I  will 
appoint  Adolphus  my  lieutenant,  and  you  will 
obey  all  orders  that  come  through  him.  I  shall 
see  your  parents,  and  have  their  consent  to  our 
tramps  together.  My  first  General  Order  is  for 
all  to  meet  me  at  Mr  Long's  store  at  one  o'clock 


46  ROCKTON. 

precisely,  next    Saturday   afternoon,  unless   you 
hear  from  me  to  the  contrary." 

He  gave  each  boy  his  hand,  and  then  went 
down  through  the  birches  faster  than  he 
came  up. 


CHAPTER  III. 

A  SOMEWHAT  QUEER  MAN. 


in  Rockton,"  was  what  Benny  Strong's 
grandmother  said  when  she  came  from  Ver- 
mont to  live  with  her  son.  The  old  lady 
was  right.  It  is  a  busy,  thriving  populous 
A  town.  Not  only  are  there  a  great  many  peo- 
ple, but  there  are  a  great  many  different  people. 
To  be  peculiar  in  Rockton  is  to  be  very  much 
in  fashion.  Indeed,  this  dissimilarity  is  so  uni- 
versal that  paradoxically  it  is  the  chief  simi- 
larity, for  it  is  common  to  all.  All  strangers 
who  have  thus  been  enlightened  with  regard  to 
its  people  will  understand  that  when  Rockton 
says  of  any  man,  "  He  's  queer,"  why,  he  is  queer. 
When  Mr.  Armour  came  down  from  Pond 
Pasture  on  Wednesday  afternoon,  and  walked 
up  School  Street,  Annis  Crab  flattened  her  some- 
what prominent  nose  against  the  glass  in  a 
vain  attempt  to  discover  his  destination.  When 
he  was  out  of  sight,  she  asked  Granny  Norcross, 

47 


48  ROCKTON. 

who  had  hobbled  across  the  street  for  an  hour^s 
gossip:  "Ain't  he  queer?" 

The  wrinkled  old  woman  was  regaling  her 
beak-like  nose  with  a  pinch  of  snuff;  but  she 
paused  between  sniffs  to  croak,  "  Drefful." 

Let  every  reader  take  a  good  look  at  his 
photograph,  caught  as  he  walked  along  the 
street  beyond  the  reach  of  Annis  Crab's  gimlet 
eyes.  "Tall!"  Of  course;  and  very  tall 
among  short  men.  Five  feet  eleven  inches  in 
his  stocking  feet  would  be  quite  an  exact  guess. 
Six  feet  as  he  stood  or  walked.  Eyes  hazel, 
bright,  full,  and — well,  busy  !  His  hair  matched 
his  eyes,  and  there  was  plenty  of  it  under  the 
wide-awake  hat  that  had  a  trick  of  sliding 
down  on  the  back  of  his  head.  Complexion 
clear,  palish,  but  healthful,  as  could  readily  be 
seen,  because  his  face  was  clean  shaven,  all  but 
the  upper  lip,  on  which  grew  what  little  four- 
year-old  Minnie  Wise  when  she  kissed  him, 
called  a  "  tellerabul  bid  muss-tass."  His  mouth 
was  large,  and,  as  such  mouths  ought  to  be, 
firm  and  well-shut,  the  wide,  flexible  nostrils 
above  affording  ample  proof  that  he  knew  how 
to  breathe.  The  corners  of  his  mouth  drooped  a 
little  under  the  heavy  thatch  of  the  mustache, 
as  if  in  sympathy  with  the  eyes  above  in  their 
habit  of  seeing  the  bright  and  droll  side  of 
things.  His  body  was  long  and  rather  lean. 


A  SoMi:\riiAT  QUEER  MAN.  49 

The  shoulders  stooped  a  little,  perhaps — yes, 
perhaps;  for  his  back  was  flat,  and  he  could 
stand — O,  so  straight !  sometimes.  His  arms 
were  long  and  swung  free.  His  hands  corre- 
sponded. They  were  not  thick  but  long  and 
muscular.  As  he  walked  around  the  corner  of 
School  and  Linden  Streets  his  pace  seemed  leis- 
urely enough,  but  young  Walters,  who  was  beside 
him,  was  pretty  nearly  exhausted,  and  broke  into 
a  trot  to  recover  his  wind. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  most  people  enter- 
tained the  same  opinion  of  Mr.  Armour  as 
did  Annis  Crab,  with  this  difference  :  Most  peo- 
ple liked  him  exceedingly — Annis  apparently 
did  n't.  It  was  Annis  who  said  to  Aunt  Nancy 
Dwight,  when  his  name  happened  to  be  men- 
tioned :  "I  don't  see  how  you  can  like 'him, 
he's  so  queer."  To  this  the  sunny-faced  old 
lady  replied:  " He  may  be  queer,  but  that 's  just 
the  reason  why  I  like  him."  Annis  in  this  in- 
stance, as  in  many  others,  was  in  a  minority  of  one. 

Some  readers  may  be  curious  to  know  the 
business  of  this  "queer "man.  Herbert  Ar- 
mour certainly  had  something  to  do ;  at  any  rate  he 
generally  was  busy,  but  he  seldom  appeared  to 
be  in  a  hurry.  When  asked  by  a  stranger  in 
town  with  whom  he  happened  to  be  chatting, 
where  his  place  of  business  was  located,  he 
vaguely  answered,  "  O,  all  over  the  lot,"  and 

5 


50  ROCKTON. 

then  asked  his  questioner  what  he  thought  of 
the  results  of  recent  excavations  in  Egypt,  of 
which  he  of  course  was  utterly  ignorant. 

One  day  he  boarded  the  fast  New  York  ex- 
press, and  could  scarcely  read  an  item  in  the 
newspaper,  he  was  so  pestered  with  questions 
by  the  man  who  occupied  the  other  half  of  the 
seat.  He  answered  politely  but  reservedly  for 
awhile,  still  trying  to  read,  but  the  beetle-headed 
Paul  Pry  would  not  let  him  alone. 

As  the  train  was  "slowing  up"  for  New 
Haven  station,  the  man  began  to  arrange  his 
"traps"  to  leave  the  car.  When  he  was  ready 
he  nudged  Mr.  Armour,  and  said:  "Now  don't 
try  to  be  so  close-mouthed."  Then  touching 
his  big  "grip,"  he  added  in  a  confidential  tone: 
"  I  ve  got  a  patent  nutmeg-grater,  a  flapjack 
turner,  a  mouse-trap,  and  a  knife-sharpener  that 
I  'in  trying  to  get  on  the  market."  Just  at  that 
moment  the  train  stopped,  and  a  brakeman 
sticking  his  head  in  at  the  door,  shouted,  "  New 
Haven."  The  big  bore  had  got  out  of  his  seat 
but  his  curiosity  would  not  let  him  leave  without 
twisting  another  question  like  a  corkscrew  into 
his  victim.  He  leaned  over  and  pointing  to  Mr. 
Armour's  modest  russet  hand-bag,  said: 

"Come  and  tell  us;  what  are  you  trying  to 
introduce  ?" 

"  Y0u  '11  give  me  away,"  was  the  reply. 


A  So  ME  iv HAT  QUEER  MAN.  51 

"  No  ;  I  won't,"  affirmed  beetle-head,  very 
stoutly. 

By  this  time  nearly  all  the  passengers  were 
listening.  Mr.  Armour  lifted  the  bag  from  his 
knees,  and  having  placed  it  carefully  on  the  seat 
beside  him,  looked  up  at  the  eager  face  of  the 
bundle-lad.ened  and  curiosity-burdened  man, 
and  said : 

"  Well,  if  you  won't  give  it  away  I  will  tell 
you — confidentially,  you  know  " — here  beetle- 
head  nodded  sagaciously,  and  winked  with  his 
dexter  eye — "  I  am  trying  to  introduce  a  con- 
trivance to  help  people  mind  their  own 
business." 

Lawyer  Newhall,  who  was  also  on  his  way  to 
Xe\v  York,  where  he  was  to  appear  in  the  famous 
case  of  Pinch  vs.  Scratch,  told  the  story  all 
over  Rockton  when  he  got  back. 

Yes,  Herbert  Armour  was  "  queer."  If  he 
chanced  to  see  a  drunken  man  who  tumbled 
clown,  he  would  pick  him  up  carefully,  talk  to 
him  softly,  and  lead  him  home.  Quite  likely  he 
would  stop  around  until  he  "sobered  off."  But 
if  a  balky  horse  aggravated  a  hot-tempered 
driver,  and  he  resorted  to  heavy  lashing  and 
cursing,  this  same  soft-spoken  man  would  not 
hesitate  to  clap  his  muscular  hand  on  the 
swearer's  shoulder,  and  tell  him  to  stop  both  his 
blasphemies  and  his  blows.  Droll  stories  are 


52  ROCKTON. 

told  of  what  "  Granny  Norcross "  called  his 
"  goin's  on."  A  farmer  came  in  from  what  is 
known  as  the  Ward  District,  some  two  miles  out, 
and  left  his  team  before  Mr.  Long's  store,  while 
he  did  an  errand  for  his  wife.  On  the  wagon- 
seat  was  a  little  mite,  hardly  big  enough  to 
walk,  much  less  to  care  for  herself  or  the  horse. 
Evidently  the  farmer  reckoned  the  old  horse 
perfectly  safe,  for  he  did  not  tie  him.  Scarcely 
was  he  inside  the  store  when  a  barge  full  of 
rollicking  school-boys  came  down  the  street. 
They  were  waving  flags,  shouting,  singing, 
blowing  horns,  in  fact  doing  about  all  they  could 
to  make  a  big  noise.  The  farmer's  old  horse 
looked  up,  snorted,  and  started.  Mr.  Armour 
was  coining  up  the  street,  and  saw  the  child  and 
her  danger.  He  did  not  jump  before  the  fright- 
ened horse,  or  make  the  least  noise.  He  turned 
and  ran  for  a  few  rods  at  a  surprising  speed  be- 
side the  horse,  at  the  same  time  seizing  the  bits. 
The  next  instant  he  had  spoken,  the  weight  of 
his  strong  hand  was  felt,  and  he  was  leading  the 
horse  quietly  back,  as  if  catching  runaways  was 
the  most  commonplace  and  simple  thing  in  the. 
world.  The  farmer  terrified  at  the  danger  of 
his  child,  was  profuse  in  his  thanks,  when  what 
did  this  tall  man  do  but  turn  on  him,  and  be- 
rate him  as  he  afterwards,  said,  "  'S  if  I  was  a 
pickpocket" — for  risking  the  life  of  his  child  so 


A  SOME ir HAT  QUEER  MAN.  53 

heedlessly,  and  forcing  other  people  to  endanger 
their  lives  to  prevent  the  consequences  of  his 
negligence.  When  the  confused  father  tried  to 
stammer  out  that  the  horse  was  old  and  safe,  he 
was  told  that  he  had  no  business  to  leave  a  horse 
unhitched  under  such  circumstances,  even  if  it 
were  "  a  saw-horse." 

One  evening  he  was  walking  in  one  of  the 
worst  localities  in  the  town.  A  snow-storm  had 
ended  in  a  warm  rain,  and  the  streets,  and  es- 
pecially the  gutters,  were  full  of  slush.  A  lot 
of  half-drunken  rowdies  were  having  what  they 
called  a  "  high  old  time."  They  would  block  the 
way  and  drive  timid  passers  into  the  slush,  and 
then  make  the  night  hideous  with  their  roars  ol 
drunken  laughter.  Mr.  Armour  noticed  their 
pranks,  and  as  he  came  near  them  saw  that  there 
was  a  young  woman,  who  dared  not  pass  through 
the  crowd,  and  who  was  intercepted  by  some  of  the 
roughs  when  she  would  turn  back.  In  a  mo- 
ment he  was  beside  her,  telling  her  in  his  quiet 
way  to  move  along  with  him.  At  his  "  step 
aside,  gentlemen,"  they  all  gave  way,  except  a 
great  lout  of  a  bully  who  leaned  before  Mr.  Ar- 
mour to  get  a  look  in  the  girl's  face,  only  to  be 
shouldered  into  the  gutter.  As  he  was  well 
filled  with  "Jersey  lightning,"  he  was  more 
than  full  of  fight,  and  started  after  the  man  who 
had  caused  him  to  wet  his  feet.  Mr.  Armour 


54  ROCKTON. 

hearing  his  oaths  and  rapid  approach,  told  the 
girl  to  go  on  her  way  without  fear,  and  then 
turned  back.  The  bully  struck  straight  at  him 
only  to  have  the  blow  neatly  parried,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  be  tripped  in  a  way  that  caused 
him  to  pitch  backwards  into  the  gutter,  where 
he  began  to  call  on  his  mates  to  "  take  him  off." 
Mr.  Armour  reached  down,  grasped  him  by  his 
collar  and  lifted  him  on  to  the  edge  of  the  side- 
walk apparently  as  easily  as  he  had  canted  him 
over,  and  walked  away  with  a  contented  smile 
on  his  face,  as  though  the  tripping  up  of  bullies 
was  the  pleasantest  of  pastimes. 

All  sorts  of  queer  speeches  are  reported  as 
having  been  made  by  this  tall  fellow  on  partic- 
ular occasions.  Of  these  only  one  sample  need 
be  given.  There  was  a  big  social  gathering 
somewhere  in  the  town,  and  though  he  some- 
times avoided  such  places,  declaring  he  had  no 
taste  for  "herb-tea  dissipation,"  he  was  present 
on  this  occasion.  The  conversation  turned  at 
length  on  missions  and  missionary  work.  Miss 
Jennie  Gusher — her  real  name  was  Jeannette, 
but  she  was  of  too  light  weight  for  anything  but 
the  diminutive — was  very  sentimental  over  the 
condition  of  little  trowserless  and  bookless 
heathen  boys.  She  expressed  a  great  desire  to 
expend  her  shallow  energies  in  their  behalf.  She 
simpered  at  Mr.  Armour,  and  asked :  "  Do 


A  SOMEWHAT  QUEER  MAN.  55 

you  think  I  could  relieve  their  sad,  sad  lot, 
if  I  should  devote  my  life  to  it?"  Then,  as 
he  did  not  answer,  but  appeared  to  be  thinking, 
she  went  on  to  repeat  her  desire  to  cross  the 
seas  for  their  good,  to  which  she  added  her  fear 
that  she  would  not  be  able  to  master  the  lan- 
guage or  impress  the  minds  of  these  small,  half- 
nude  idolaters.  Finally,  she  again  appealed  to  her 
listener,  entreating  him  to  tell  her  how  she  might 
learn  whether  she  was  adapted  to  the  work. 

There  was  not  even  the  shadow  of  a  smile 
on  his  face  as  he  told  her  she  could  very  readily 
prove  her  value  as  a  missionary.  That  there  were 
a  lot  of  little,  half-naked  heathen  she  might  try 
her  powers  upon  down  in  Swamp  Lane.  Swamp 
Lane  was  formerly  a  cart-path  leading  from  the 
center  of  the  town  to  a  swamp  on  the  south. 
Here  a  dozen  families  of  the  worst  class  had 
built  cabins  or  huts  that  swarmed  with  dogs, 
pigs,  and  ragged  and  unruly  children.  With  his 
face  still  "as  sober  as  a  judge,"  he  explained: 

"  You  see,  if  no  other  damage  was  done,  it 
would  cost  a  deal  of  money  to  send  you  so  far 
away,  which  would,  of  course,  be  uselessly  ex- 
pended, if,  as  you  seem  to  fear,  you  should  prove 
a  failure.  Now,  it  won't  cost  a  dime  to  send  you 
to  Swamp  Lane.  The  heathen  there  need  you 
just  as  much  as  they  do  in  Asia  or  Africa.  If 
you  succeed  there,  you  can  anywhere.  If  you 


56  ROCKTON. 

do  n't  succeed,- there  won't  be  any  money  wasted. 
Besides  yon  can  get  home  in  less  than  an  hour 
without  the  slightest  risk  of  shipwreck  on  the 
way." 

It  would  be  impossible  to  describe  the  dis- 
gust on  Miss  Jennie's  face,  or  the  scornful  tilt  of 
her  little  nose  as  these  unwashed,  young  "  Swamp 
Laners  "  were  thrust  under  it.  It  is  doubtful  if 
she  saw  the  point,  but  the  company  did,  with 
perhaps  a  few  exceptions.  Skinner  Flint,  a  nar- 
row-headed, narrow-minded,  penurious  man,  who 
had  grown  rich  by  hoarding,  was  present,  but  he 
did  not  see  the  point.  He  seldom  or  never  did, 
of  anything  witty  or  humorous.  The  boys  ab- 
breviated his  name  to  "Skin  Flint,"  and  declared 
it  to  be  as  impossible  for  him  to  laugh  as 
one  of  the  tanned  hides  in  which  he  dealt. 

Deluded  by  the  gravity  of  Mr.  Armour's 
countenance  into  thinking  that  there  was  agree- 
ment of  opinion  between  this  popular  gentleman 
and  himself,  he  expressed  his  approval  of  the 
suggestion  for  missionary  work  in  Rockton,  and 
with  pomposity  and  obtuseness  common  to  his 
class,  quoted  the  devil's  pet  adage  :  "  Charity 
begins  at  home."  There  was  an  instantaneous, 
lighting  gleam  from  a  pair  of  hazel  eyes,  followed 
by  a  low,  even  voice,  which  said : 

"  My  dear  sir,  that  is  a  lying  humbug  that  has 
been  bed-ridden  for  thousands  of  years." 


A    SOM Kir  HAT  Ql'KER   Ji/Aff.  57 

Whatever  can  be  done  with  such  a  "  queer 
man?"  It  might  reasonably  be  expected  that 
people  would  refuse  to  put  up  with  his  ways.  On 
the  contrary,  they  seemed  to  like  them.  After  the 
double  broadside  he  had  discharged  at  this  gath- 
ering, he  was  the  lion  of  the  evening.  Skinner 
Flint  begged  him  to  call  at  his  house  as  a  great 
favor,  while  Miss  Gusher  simpered  at  him  worse 
than  ever.  It  must,  however,  be  remembered 
that  he  was  unmarried. 

It  must  also  be  said  that  this  "queer  man" 
was  especially  liked  by  boys.  It  was  the  almost 
daily  aggravation  of  Annis  Crab  that  if  her  green 
eyes  looked^ out  of  the  front  windows  of  her 
house,  outside  of  school-hours,  she  saw  him,  as 
she  snappishly  told  her  happily  deaf  old  mother, 
"just  wasting  his  time  with  a  passel  of  boys  at 
his  heels." 

One  day  he  was  passing  the  big  school-house 
in  Northville  just  as  the  children  came  pouring 
out  for  recess.  Merry  voices  called  his  name,  and 
he  stopped  and  lifted  his  hat  to  the  crowd.  Just 
at  the  same  time  Wesley  Jones,  a  red-faced,  jolly 
hearted  fanner,  drove  along  with  a  couple  of 
bushels  of  Early  Harvest  apples  he  was  intend- 
ing to  peddle  out  somewhere  in  the  village.  Mr. 
Armour  beckoned  him  to  stop,  which,  nothing 
loath,  he  did,  and  was  asked  the  price  of  his 
fruit,  which  he  gave  as  one  dollar  and  a  half  per 


58  ROCKTON. 

bushel.     He  was  asked  what  he  would  take  for 
the  lot,  and  sell  on  the  spot. 

"  Why,"  he  said,  "  if  you  want  a  basket  of 
them  apples  for  yourself,  you  can  have  them  for 
nothing  and  cartage  thrown  in.  But  law  me  !" 
he  added  with  a  wink,  "I  don't  see  what  use 
you  have  for  'em." 

Mr.  Armour  laughed  at  the  little  joke,  and 
said : 

"  I  am  a  single  man,  but  I  have  a  lot  of 
sweethearts,  and  they  are  apple  hungry."  Then 
taking  out  of  his  pocket  a  couple  of  silver  dol- 
lars, he  added :  "  I  will  give  you  two  dollars 
for  your  apples,  and  won't  charge  you  anything 
for  seeing  the  fun." 

How  the  blue-frocked  farmer  laughed  !  He 
reached  for  the  dollars,  and  said  : 

"  Gosh,  I  ain't  going  round  the  town  ped- 
dlin'  apples  by  the  peck  when  I  can  sell  whole- 
sale. Besides  I  can  see  your 'fun,  and  get  back 
home  in  time  to  do  a  big  stroke  of  work." 

Mr.  Armour  stepped  to  the  window  where 
Miss  Barber  stood  watching  the  sports  of  her 
rather  wild  urchins,  and  after  he  had  spoken 
with  her,  he  returned  to  his  place  beside  the 
wagon  while  she  held  a  moment's  conference 
with  the  other  teachers,  which  resulted  in  an  ap- 
proving nod  when  she  reappeared.  It  took  but  a 
moment  to  secure  silence. 


A  SOMEWHAT  QUEER  MAN.  59 

"Stand  just  where  you  are  till  I  tell  you 
what  to  do.''  They  stood.  "  How  many  girls 
like  apples?  Up  with  your  hands."  Up  they 
went.  "  How  many  boys  like  apples?  Hands 
up!" 

"  Girls,  you  get  in  a  row.  Little  girls  first. 
Do  n't  crowd  !  Now  come  along  in  a  line.  Do  n't 
hurry !"  and  every  girl  had  an  apple  in  a  very 
short  time.  Then  came  the  boys  with  equal  de- 
light. When  all  were  served  perhaps  a  peck  of 
apples  were  left,  and  these  he  asked  Mr.  Jones  to 
leave  at  Mrs.  Walters  as  it  would  be  but  a  rod 
or  two  out  of  his  way,  and  was  off  in  a  twink- 
ling to  escape  the  cheers  which  he  heard  some 
of  the  boys  proposing. 

It  has  already  been  noticed  that  the  portion 
of  Rockton  known  as  Northville,  has  grown  in 
a  fashion  peculiarly  its  own,  well  up  on  the 
north  slope  of  the  ridge  which  intervenes  be- 
tween it  and  the  central  portion  of  the  town. 
The  street  on  which  James  Mears  and  Edward 
Holt  lived  runs  from  east  to  west  almost  at  its 
very  summit.  It  was  intended  to  give  it  a  high- 
sounding  name.  All  thought  it  deserved  it. 
Each  had  "just  the  fit "  to  propose:  "High," 
u  Tip-top,"  "  Summit,"  "  Lookout,"  "  Seaview  " 
(somebody  affirmed  that,  with  a  good  glass,  some- 
thing that  looked  like  the  sea  could  be  seen  on 
a  clear  day),  "  Sunrise  Avenue,"  "  Sunset  ditto," 


60  ROCKTON. 

"  Upland,"  "  Cloudland  Avenue  "  (no  part  of  the 
ridge  was  two  hundred  feet  above  the  valley), 
"  Overlook ;"  as  has  been  said  every  one  had  a 
name.  Agreement  seemed  impossible.  At  one 
of  the  meetings  of  the  residents  a  wag  suggested 
that  inasmuch  as  no  name  could  be  found  upon 
which  two  could  agree,  they  had  better  dub  it  at 
once  "  Nameless  Street."  This,  of  course,  could 
not  be  agreed  to,  but  practically  it  was  a  name- 
less street  for  a  considerable  time.  At  length  the 
boys  began  to  call  it  "  Ridge  Street,"  presently 
the  older  people  fell  into  the  habit  of  the  boys,  and 
after  a  while  residents  on  it  had  the  name  used 
in  the  direction  of  their  letters.  Then  the  rest 
of  the  town  used  it.  Thus  what  everybody  dis- 
agreed about  was  settled,  and  by  general  con- 
sent. "  Ridge  Street "  it  was  christened,  and 
Ridge  Street  it  is  to  this  day. 

It  might  have  been  about  fifteen  minutes 
before  eight  on  Wednesday  evening,  when  Mr. 
Armour  walked  with  his  usual  leisurely  swing 
along  this  street.  The  exact  time  is  of  no  im- 
portance, but  it  is  certain  that  nearly  three-quar- 
ters of  an  hour  before  the  sun  had  dropped  from 
sight  behind  a  fringe  of  woods  far  away  to  the 
west,  and  the  ruddy  reflection  of  his  setting  had 
died  out  in  the  windows  of  the  houses.  Great 
shadows  were  spreading  softly  over  the  land- 
scape. The  darkness  seemed  to  fall  like  a  mystic 


A  SOMEWHAT  QUEER  MAN.  61 

curtain,  from  the  heavens,  through  which  the 
stars  faintly  peeped,  but  with  a  growing  bright- 
ness in  their  twinkling  glances.  Out  of  the  deeper 
darkness  of  the  town  below  there  began  to  shoot 
forth,  here  and  there,  answering  gleams,  as  though 
heaven  and  earth'  were  signaling  to  each  other ; 
the  stars  above  telling  of  God's  love  and  ever- 
watchful  care,  the  lights  beneath  answering  back 
of  human  hope  and  trust  in  darkness.  Both 
seemed  shining  prophecies  of  the  coming  day 
when  there  shall  be  no  need  of  "  candle,  neither 
light  of  the  sun." 

James  was  on  hand,  with  a  cordial  greeting 
for  his  tall  friend.  The  short  call  which  fol- 
lowed must  have  been  in  every  way  satisfactory  ; 
for  when  the  door  opened  again  to  let  the  vis- 
itor out,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mears  both  stood  in  it, 
wishing  him  good  evening  with  pleasant  smiles, 
while  the  face  of  the  fairly  capering  boy  was 
a  picture  of  exuberant  delight. 

As  the  firm  and  regular  steps  of  the  evening 
caller  fell  on  the  walk  leading  to  the  main  en- 
trance of  Mr.  Holt's  substantial  dwelling,  a 
keen-eyed  observer  might  have  thought  he  no- 
ticed the  faint  outline  of  a  form  sitting  in  the 
deep  dusk  at  the  parlor  window.  However,  this 
might  have  been  an  illusion ;  for  as  Mr.  Armour 
came  near  and  glanced  at  the  window,  there 
was  absolutely  nothing  to  be  seen.  Still  it  was, 


62  ROCKTON. 

as  Granny  Norcross  is  apt  to  say  about  things, 
"  curious  "  that  Sarah  Holt  should  almost  in- 
stantly answer  the  ring  of  the  bell,  and  still 
more  unaccountable  that  a  man  with  such  long 
legs,  and  in  good  health,  should  require  full  five 
minutes  to  get  from  the  outside  door  to  the  sit- 
ting-room. Perhaps  he  was  hunting  for  a  place 
to  hang  his  hat. 

But  the  sitting-room!  Yes.  It  was  a  sitting- 
room.  The  first  impression  was  that  of  light. 
There  was  plenty.  The  smallest  child  sitting 
at  the  window  would  surely  have  been  seen  from 
the  outside.  Then  it  was  cheerful.  Not  merely 
because  of  light,  but  somehow  in  itself.  One 
side  was  fitted  with  shelves,  and  they  were  filled 
with  books,  pamphlets,  and  papers.  There  were 
not  so  many  very  recent  works,  but  those  of 
the  old  masters.  Mr.  Armour  once  remarked  as  he 
was  running  his  eyes  over  them :  "  You  have  here 
the  cream  of  literature."  Whatever  there  might 
have  been  of  gilt  on  the  bindings  had  become 
dimmed,  and  they  wore  the  look  of  having  been 
freely  used.  Appearances  in  this  case  were  not 
misleading.  Mr.  Holt  was  a  broad-shouldered, 
solidly  built  man  of  middle  height,  with  a  well- 
shaped,  wide-browed  head,  crowned  with  thick, 
curling  chestnut  hair.  His  beard  was  thick, 
close  trimmed,  and  reddish.  Both  beard  and 
hair  showed  faint  streaks  of  gray.  His  eyes  were 


A  SoMKirriAT  OIT/-:KR  MAN.  63 

blue,  keen,  but  very  pleasant.  It  may  be  briefly 
said  that  he  was  a  brainy,  broad-minded,  (some 
men  are  brainy,  but  narrow-minded)  large 
hearted,  true-souled,  energetic  man,  with  a 
straightforwardness  of  speech,  and  action  which 
brought  him  large  confidence  from  good  men, 
and  at  least  respect  from  many  of  the  other 
sort. 

The  principal  person  in  the  room  has  not 
been  first  noticed.  At  least  Mr.  Armour  always 
considered  her  so.  As  he  is  an  unusually  wise 
man,  undoubtedly  he  was  right.  In  no  respect 
did  people  more  heartily  indorse  his  judgment 
than  in  this.  This  calm-browed,  intelligent- 
faced,  womanly  woman,  who  could  describe? 
Her  smooth  hair  had  its  threads  of  silver,  and 
there  were  lines  about  the  earnest,  kindly  eyes, 
which  told  the  story  of  a  day  of  great  sorrow, 
which  closed  the  bright  young  lives  of  a  son  and 
a  daughter. 

All  this  time  Mr.  Armour  has  been  left  in  the 
act  of  entering  the  sitting-room.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  he  did  not  become  tired  with  his 
snail-like  progress.  Probably  he  did  not,  for 
Miss  Sarah  was  by  his  side  all  the  while,  and 
he  appeared  to  have  a  greater  dislike  to  "hur- 
ryinent"  than  usual." 

As  it  looked  a  little  ha/.y  in  th:  east,  the  time 
of  this  digression  might  have  been  employed  in 


64  ROCKTON. 

settling  weather  "  probabilities."  Any  way  the 
tall  man  looked  down  on  the  graceful,  young 
woman  with  a  smile  that  ought  not  to  have  been 
called  out  but  by  a  prospect  of  a  spell  of  very 
sunshiny  weather. 

Edward  Holt  was  on  hand,  as  usual,  and  wel- 
comed his  friend  somewhat  noisily.  He  has  al- 
ready been  well  introduced  and  will  often  show 
himself  in  these  pages.  Sarah  Holt  at  this  point 
makes  her  first  appearance  in  person.  She  was 
the  eldest  of  four  children,  and  at  this  time  a 
well  -  formed,  healthy,  and  sprightly  young 
woman,  somewhere  in  her  early  "  twenties." 
Sitting  fully  in  the  light — her  complexion  can 
bear  it — she  looks  like  both  father  and  mother. 
Her  hair  is  a  tawny  chestnut,  and  no  matter  how 
much  she  tries  to  smooth  it,  has  a  trick  of  pull- 
ing itself  out  in  curls  like  little  tendrils,  and 
fluffing  all  around  her  shapely  little  head.  She 
is  a  witty,  sensible,  lovely  girl.  Her  parents  are 
proud  of  her. 

The  young  men  of  Rockton  watch  her  when 
she  goes  into  church,  and  watch  her  when  she 
comes  out.  If  Annis  Crab  is  to  be  believed, 
they  watch  her  all  the  time  between  this  coming 
in  and  going  out.  But  then  Annis  is  getting 
tired  of  "watching  and  waiting"  for  somebody 
to  watch  her,  and  is  evidently  growing  a  trifle 
sour  and  spiteful.  If  this  were  not  so,  she 


A  SOMEWHAT  QUEER  MAN.  65 

would  not   have   snapped    ont    to    Aunt  Nancy 
D  wight: 

"  Seems  to  me  Mr.  Armour  is  mighty  fond  of 
wasting  his  time  in  Pond  Pasture." 

"  Perhaps  he  goes  up  there  to  get  rid  of 
women,"  said  this  sweet,  old  saint,  at  which  re- 
ply Annis  only  sniffed. 

When  the  clock  on  the  mantle  in  Mrs.  Holt's 
sitting-room  sent  out  its  one  soft,  musical  note 
for  half-past  eight,  Edward  looked  up  into  his 
mother's,  and  then  his  father's  eyes.  What  he 
saw  therein  was  hardly  satisfactory,  for  his  chin 
took  a  large  drop;  but  he  arose,  and  wishing  his 
friend  a  comically  mournful  "good-night,"  took 
himself  off  to  bed. 

Evidently  Mr.  Armour  was  felt  to  be  much  of 
a  friend,  and  when  the  boy's  footsteps  died  away, 
he  was,  for  a  few  moments,  a  subject  of  remark. 

Mr.  Holt  said  he  was  a  good  boy — he  thought 
him  honest,  capable  enough,  and  all  that,  but 
that  he  was  "  inclined  to  be  selfish."  When  he 
had  thus  expressed  himself,  his  eyes  sought  those 
of  his  wife,  and  seemed  to  ask:  "  How  can  he 
be  selfish  with  such  a  mother?"  Her  eyes,  as 
they  looked  back  full  of  light  and  love,  seemed 
to  ask  :  "  How  can  he  be  selfish  with  such  a 
father?" 

Mr.  Armour  was  listening  in  silence,  and  his 
eyes  seemed  to  be  asking:  "  Is  it  possible  that 

6 


66  ROCKTON. 

a  boy  can  be  selfish  with  such  a  mother  and 
father?"  They  seemed  to  be  adding  to  it — 
"  and  with  such  a  " — but  the  voice  of  Mr.  Holt 
caused  him  to  turn  his  head,  and  the  rest  of  this 
mental  question  had  no  expression. 

Mrs.  Holt  talked  in  her  sweet,  even  voice  of 
her  boy,  and  told  of  the  great  sorrow  which  had 
bereft  their  home.  She  thought  that  they  might 
have  caused  this  selfishness  in  Edward  by  the 
tenderness  in  which  he  had  been  reared.  She 
hoped  for  the  best.  She  wished  him  to  grow 
manly,  and  large-hearted ;  and  expressed  her 
conviction  that  a  man  like  their  friend  might  be 
able  to  do  more  to  correct  this  wrong  bent  than 
even  those  who  loved  him  in  his  home. 

Before  he  left,  Mr.  Armour  mentioned  his 
plan  to  find  at  least  amusement  and  profit  to 
himself  in  a  few  tramps  around  the  neighboring 
country  in  company  with  some  Northville  boys, 
and  asked  that  Edward  might  be  allowed  to  join 
him. 

This  was  of  course  agreed  to,  and  the  visitor 
took  his  departure,  not  however,  as  in  his  pre- 
vious call,  attended  by  the  family  conclave.  Per- 
haps mischievous  Edward  had  hid  his  hat.  The 
distance  from  the  sitting-room  to  the  front  door 
had  not  shortened  during  his  stay,  for  it  took 
fully  as  much  time  to  travel  it  as  it  did  before. 
At  length  the  boy  who  could  not  sleep,  but  was 


A  SOMEWHAT  QUEER  MAN;  67 

listening  in  his  room  above,  heard  a  flute-like 
voice  say  "  good-night  "  followed  by  the  closing 
of  a  door — which  significant  sounds  caused  him 
to  turn  his  face  to  the  wall,  and  testily  mutter, 
"  Con — junctions !" 


CHAPTER  IV- 


A  TRAMP  Tb  "TRAMPS'  ROOST." 


10.40    A.    M.     Recess    at 
school-house    on    School    Street.     Five 

boys   holding    confabulation   in    a  corner   of 

the  play-ground. 

11.45  A.  M.  In  the  school-room.  Five 
/v-boys,  with  eager  eyes,  stealing  furtive  glances 
at  the  clock. 

12.3  P.  M.  Outside  the  school-house.  Five 
boys  in  a  hurried  consultation. 

12.  4  P.  M.  A  red-haired  chap  scudding  east 
along  School  Street.  A  tall  boy,  with  a  chubby- 
cheeked  mate,  scampering  around  the  corner  of 
the  first  street  leading  north.  Edward  and 
James  splitting  the  wind  in  a  race  towards 
Ridge  Street. 

12.25  P.  M.  In  five  houses  in  Northville, 
five  boys  making  heroic  efforts  to  spoil  their 
digestion  by  rapid  eating. 

12.40   P.  M.     Ridge  Street.     Edward  rushes 
out  of  the  yard  with  an  ear-spliting  "whoop-la!" 
68 


A  TRAMP  TO  "  TRAMPS'  ROOST:''          69 

Half  a  minute  later  James  tumbles  pell-mell 
over  a  slop-pail  on  the  back  stoop  of  his  home, 
and  chips  a  bit  of  cuticle  off  his  shin,  and  an- 
other off  his  elbow  as  he  "brings  up,"  or  down 
rather,  at  the  bottom  of  the  steps. 

"Bother  the  luck!"  he  grunts.  Then  he 
scrambles  up,  and  runs  out  to  meet  Edward  with 
a  wild  "  hurrah  !" 

"Tip-top,  ain't  it?" 

"  Splendacious  !" 

Away  they  go,  full  of  life  and  hope,  and 
with  merry  hearts  trot  down  the  street  into  the 
village. 

12.50  P.  M.,  sharp.  In  front  of  a  store. 
Over  the  door  a  big  sign  with  "Jabez  Long, 
Dry  Goods,"  in  gilt  letters.  Before  the  door 
four  chattering  boys.  Even  Adolphus  Grant  is 
unusually  loquacious.  Edward  and  James  are 
both  talking  excitedly  at  the  same  time. 
Benjaming  Strong  is  talking  by  spurts,  but,  true 
to  his  ruling  passion,  makes  his  jaws  do  double 
service  by  devouring  what  looks,  as  it  rapidly 
disappears,  very  much  like  a  bun. 

Mr.  Long  comes  out  to  greet  them  with  a 
smile.  This  starts  the  gabbling  chorus  afresh. 
The  good  man  listens  with  interest,  and  his 
laugh  has  as  jolly  a  ring  as  either  of  the  boys'. 
Said  he  :  "  I  've  almost  a  mind  to  run  along,  too." 

"  Do ;  please  do,"  they  all  chorused. 


70  ROCKTON. 

"  I  'd  just  delight  to  do  it.  I  feel  just  as 
young  this  minute  as  ever  I  did.  Sometimes  I 
feel  so  much  like  a  boy  I  act  like  one.  Then 
the  rheumatism  grabs  me,  and  pinches  and 
jabs  me,  and  says :  '  Take  that  for  trying  to  act 
like  a  gosling  when  you  are  an  old  goose !'  " 

As  the  boys  continued  to  urge  him  to  go,  he 
promised  to  try  to  arrange  to  join  them  in  some 
of  their  tramps,  and  then  asked  : 

"  How  many  of  you  have  taken  a  lunch 
along?" 

All  were  silent.  Even  Bun  had  n't  a  cake 
to  his  name. 

"  I  '11  wager  an  old  shoe-string,"  he  continued, 
"  that  you  were  in  such  an  awful  hurry  that  you 
swallowed  your  dinners  whole,  and  didn't  allow 
yourselves  time  for  more  than  half  rations  at  that." 

The  faces  of  the  still-silent  boys  satisfied 
him  that  he  had  won  his  wager.  In  an  instant 
he  had  darted  through  the  door  of  the  next 
shop.  The  prospective  tramps  had  not  done 
"  dusting  each  others'  jackets,"  as  they  called 
it,  for  their  stupidity  in  forgetting  their  stomachs, 
when  he  was  back  with  four  neat,  brown  paper 
parcels  in  his  hands.  As  he  gave  one  to  each 
boy  he  said : 

"  Molasses  pakes  and  cheese  are  just  the  bill 
of  fare  for  a  hungry  tramp,  when  he  stops  for 
a  lunch  in  Brush  Hotel.  Stuff  them  in  your 


A  TRAMP  TO  "  TRAMPS'  ROOST.'         71 

pockets.  I  guess  you  '11  find  them  as  Some- 
body called  something  else,  '  werry  ftllinV 
That  is  " — here  he  chuckled,  "  if  you  keep  up 
with  Mr.  Armour's  long  legs  all  the  afternoon." 

12.58  P  M.  Same  place.  Four  boys  stuff- 
ing four  paper  packages  into  four  pockets,  look 
suddenly  up  and  shriek  in  unisoii,  "  Here  he 
comes !" 

Less  than  sixty  seconds  later  Mr.  Armour 
had  shaken  Mr.  Long's  generous  hand,  and  was 
surrounded  by  the  boys,  each  declaiming  and 
patting  his  protuberant  pocket. 

"  Time  will  be  up  in  thirty  seconds,"  he 
said.  "  We  must  be  moving,  for  I  told  Bernard 
Walters  we  would  pick  him  up  on  the  way." 

"  Hold  on  for  just  ten  of  'em,"  puffed  Mr. 
Long,  as  he  bobbed  once  more  over  the  steps  ot 
the  other  store.  Back  he  came  almost  as  quickly, 
and  handing  another  paper  parcel  to  Mr.  Ar- 
mour, wheezed  out : 

"  It 's  my  treat.  Did  n't  know  young  Walters 
was  one  of  your  squad.  He  's  one  of  my  bright 
boys.  Tell  him  not  to  give  all  the  cakes  to 
Ben  Strong." 

Even  Bun  joined  in  the  laugh  at  this  u  dig," 
that  lasted  until  its  author  had  waved  the  jolly 
boys  and  their  leader  good-bye  as  they  disap- 
peared around  the  corner. 

1.3    P.    M.     Annis     Crab's    house.     Granny 


72  ROCKTON. 

Norcross  at  the  front  window.  She  had  poked 
over  "  airly,"  as  she  said,  "  for  fear  it  '11  rain  ter- 
morrer,  an'  I  shall  hev'  ter  stay  ter  home  "  Annis, 
for  once,  is  in  the  background. 

"  'Sakes  alive!"  squeaked  the  little  old  gossip, 
as  she  caught  sight  of  the  squad  marching  up 
the  street,  "  ef  there  ain't  thet  long-legged  Ar- 
mour with  a  passle  of  boys  taggin'  at  his  heels." 

This  caused  Annis  to  change  front,  and 
make  a  charge  upon  the  window.  Her  green 
eyes  snapped  as  her  tongue  snapped : 

"  I  hope  to  goodness  they  won't  get  into 
any  scrape !" 

Annis  lived  in  perpetual  fear  for  other  peo- 
ple. She  was  in  a  constant  state  of  apprehen- 
sion that  somebody  or  everybody  would  "  get 
into  a  scrape."  Whatever  she  meant  by  this,  no 
mortal  ever  discovered  ;  but  it  has  come  to  be  a 
standing  jest.  When  a  Northvillian  meets  with 
some  funny  mishap,  his  friends  joke  him  for 
getting  into  one  of  "  Annis  Crab's  scrapes." 
Solomon  Whagg  came  along  one  day  as  she  was 
sitting  at  th£  open  window,  where  she  could 
work  and  watch.  He  pulled  up  with  a  solemn 
look  on  his  face,  and  asked: 

"  Have  you  heard  the  news  ?" 

"Mercy  on  us!  No.  Who's  run  away? 
Who's  dead?" 

The  o!4  man's  face  grew  more  solemn.     He 


A  RRAMP  TO  "  TRAMPS'  ROOST."          73 

groaned,  as  Granny  Norcross  afterwards  said, 
"  clear  down  ter  his  boots,"  and  replied,  "  No  ; 
he  hasn't  run  away  " — here  he  groaned  again, 
and  rubbed  his  eyes  with  a  big  turkey-red  cotton 
handkerchief — "  and  he  is  'nt  dead." 

By  this  time  Annis  was  half-way  out  of  the 
window  and  the  yellow,  wrinkled  face  of  Granny 
Norcross  was  pushed  out  over  her  shoulder. 

"What  is  it?"  "Who  is  it?"  "When  was 
it?"  The  questions  came  tumbling  over  each 
other  like  boys  playing  leap-frog. 

The  old  man  only  groaned  the  more  dolor- 
ously, and  shook  his  head. 

"No;  you'll  tell,  and  there'll  be  mischief." 

"  No  we  won't,"  they  both  protested  as  they 
protruded  themselves  still  further  through  the 
window.  "Tell  us  who  it  is,  any  way?" 

"Won't  you  ever  tell  nobody?" 

"No;  never!"  shrilly  chorused  the  pair. 

"Honor  bright?" 

"Yes;  yes;  honor  bright !  Now,  Solomon 
Whagg,  you  just  out  with  it.  Who  is  it?" 

The  old  man  looked  all  around  as  if  to  make 
sure  nobody  else  could  be  within  hearing.  Then 
dropping  his  voice  to  a  hoarse  whisper,  he  said  : 

"  The  old  scratch  will  be  to  pay  if  you  dare 
tell  of  it.  It's  Amos  Brown." 

"Amos  Brown!"  Annis  almost  shrieked. 
"Who  would  have  thought  it?" 

7 


74  ROCKTON. 

"  Husli !  The  neighbors  will  hear  you," 
pleaded  Solomon,  with  a  great  look  of  fear  on 
his  grizzled  face. 

"  Amos  Brown  !"  quacked  Granny  Norcross. 
"  He  !  he  !  Deacon  in  the  Church,  too  !' 

"Yes,"  commented  Annis,  "tall  too,  and 
homely.  Old  enough  to  be  my  grandfather, 
and  always  looking  sober  as  an  owl."  Here  her 
eyes  gave  their  accustomed  snap.  "He's  just 
the  kind  of  man  that  is  always  getting  into 
scrapes.  Say,  who  found  him  out?" 

Solomon  shook  his  head  sagaciously,  and 
said : 

"  Nobody  found  him  out  exactly.  He  sort 
of  confessed  it.  You  see,  I  was  down  by  his 
big  factory,  and  he  was  standing  at  the  lower 
end  looking  sadder  than  he  generally  does,  and 
everybody  knows  he  looks  mournful  enough  for 
two  funerals.  Well,  I  saw  him,  as  I  told  you, 
and  I  said  :  '  Deacon,  you  look  kind'er  sorry. 
What's  the  matter?"  He  just  shook  his  head 
and  said :  '  Friend  Whagg,  I  am  in  a  scrape.' 
I  said:  'You  don't  tell  me  so,  Deacon.'  He 
said :  '  Yes  I  do.  I  am  in  the  biggest  scrape 
there  has  been  in  Rockton  for  a  very  long 
time!'" 

The  old  man  protested  that  if  the  deacon 
had  n't  confessed  to  him  he  never  would  have 
believed  it,  and  after  repeated  injunctions  to 


A  TRAMP  TO  "  TRAMP&  ROOST."         75 

the  gossips  in  the  window  never  to  lisp  a  word 
to  any  one  else,  he  stumped  sadly  away. 

Twenty-four  hours  later  it  was  well-nigh  all 
over  the  town,  that  the  very  biggest  scandal  in  its 
history  had  occurred ;  that  Deacon  Amos  Brown 
had  got  into  the  worst  possible  scrape,  and  had 
intended  to  run  away ;  but  being  prevented  in 
this,  had  fully  confessed  his  guilt.  Presently 
Solomon  Whagg  was  freely  quoted  as  authority 
for  the  grave  report.  Of  course,  somebody 
ought  to  notice  it,  as  Mr.  Brown  was  a  leading 
citizen  and  deacon  of  a  down-town  Church. 
At  length  a  couple  of  his  brethren  called  on 
him,  and  informed  him  of  the  serious  reports  in 
circulation.  He  looked  sad,  admitted  that  there 
was  some  truth  in  the  story,  and  referred  them 
to  Solomon  Whagg,  who,  he  said,  knew  all  about 
the  matter,  and  had  his  permission  to  make  it 
public.  Of  course  they  hunted  up  Solomon 
immediately.  The  hoary  old  mischief-maker 
laughed  immoderately  in  the  faces  of  his  anx- 
ious questioners,  and  then  proceeded  to  en- 
lighten them. 

"You  see,"  he  said,  "I  was  down  at  the 
deacon's  factory,  and  he  had  the  hind-side  of 
it  rigged  with  a  stage,  and  was  helping  the 
men  scrape  it.  He  had  it  painted  two  years 
ago  with  mineral  paint,  and  the  pesky  stuff 
blistered  and  peeled  so  badly,  the  whole  of  that 


76  ROCKTON. 

side  of  the  factory  just  had  to  be  scraped  before 
it  could  be  painted  again.  I  said  :  '  Deacon  this 
is  a  big  scrape.'  He  said:  'Yes,  it  is  the  big- 
gest scrape  I  ever  knew  in  this  town.'  I  said  : 
'  I  'm  going  to  tell  Annis  Crab  you  have  got 
into  a  scrape.'  He  said  :  '  If  you  do,  it  will  be 
.all  over  town  in  a  week.'  So  you  see,  we 
kind'er  agreed  that  I  should  tell  her,  and  see 
what  would  come  of  it." 

Of  course  the  town  was  convulsed.  The 
joke  was  hugely  enjoyed.  When  it  was  ex- 
plained, everybody  remembered  that  Amos 
Brown,  despite  his  diaconate,  was  the  soberest, 
driest,  most  practical  joker  in  town,  and  that 
Solomon  Whagg  was  an  inveterate  likewise, 
and  the  deacon's  life-long  crony  and  abettor. 
Had  the  yarn  come  direct  to  most  people,  it 
would  have  been  received  as  a  joke.  Annis 
was  the  gull  who  swallowed  the  fishy  story, 
and  then  squalled  for  foul  weather. 

When  Mr.  Armour  and  the  boys — no — when 
the  boys  and  Mr.  Armour  reached  the  corner  of 
the  street  on  which  Bernard  Walters  lived,  they 
found  that  young  gentleman  philosophically 
dangling  his  heels  from  the  top  rail  of  a  con- 
venient fence,  and  altogether  ready  to  obey  the 
order,  "  Fall  in."  He  thanked  Mr.  Armour  as 
he  received  the  "  ammunition "  sent  by  Mr. 
Long,  and  as  he  hid  it  away  in  one  pocket,  he 


A  TRAMP  TO  "  TRAMPS'  ROOST"          77 

gave  him  a  knowing  look,  and  tapped  the 
pocket  on  the  other  side  that  bulged  with  the 
evidence  of  his  forethought.  "You'll  do,"  was 
the  silent  note  of  the  hazel  eyes. 

It  required  but  a  few  moments  to  reach  the 
outskirts  of  the  village.  Leaving  the  highway, 
the  party  turned  to  the  left  through  a  wide 
reach  of  pasture-land  that  rose  away  to  the  east 
in  swells  until  these  broke  into  somewhat  jagged 
peaks  or  crests.  The  general  direction  of  these 
ridges  was  from  north  to  south  ;  but  when  they 
had  advanced  towards  them  for  perhaps  a  quar- 
ter of  an  hour,  and  had  reached  the  top  of  the 
nearest,  Mr.  Armour  directed  the  notice  of  the 
boys  to  an  eccentric  freak  of  nature — a  shal- 
low ravine  cut  diagonally  through  the  remain- 
ing crests,  forming  an  almost  level  path  for  their 
feet.  The  sides  of  this  ravine  were  quite  steep, 
and  plentifully  covered  with  a  short  second- 
growth  of  pines.  Along  this  delightful  path 
they  trudged,  singing  and  shouting  in  honest, 
hearty,  boyish  glee,  until  it  began  to  lead  them 
downwards  into  a  little  oblong  valley,  well 
filled  with  a  larger  growth  of  forest-trees.  At 
the  south  end  was  a  small  pond,  with  a  narrow 
margin  cleared  of  the  larger  growth.  Into  this 
valley  they  descended,  and  found  an  unobstructed 
way  for  their  feet  in  an  old  "logging  road" 
around  the  head,  or  north  end  of  the  pond. 


78  ROCKTON. 

Though  there  was  a  brisk  wind  outside,  all  was 
still  in  this  quiet  nook.  The  sun  poured  golden 
splendors  into  it,  and  a  summer  warmth  filled 
it.  As  the  boys  chatted  and  approached  the 
pond,  a  loud  whi-r-r-r-r  startled  them  as  a  par- 
tridge or  grouse  took  wing  from  a  clump  of 
bushes,  almost  at  their  feet.  Mr.  Armour  told 
them  to  watch  sharply  for  the  next.  A  few  steps 
more,  and  Bernard,  who  was  in  front,  stopped 
short  and  pointed  ;  but  before  his  excited  mates 
could  really  See  where,  whi-r-r-r-r,  went  the  shy 
bird.  All  saw  it  on  the  wing. 

No ;  if  the  truth  must  be  told,  not  quite  all. 
Benjamin  was  lagging  a  little  behind  unno- 
ticed, while  the  others  were  "  pointing  "  game. 
When  they,  as  the  flush  of  their  excitement  cooled, 
turned  to  look  for  him  the  waning  crescent  of  a 
ginger-cake  suffered  a  total  eclipse  in  his  vora- 
cious mouth. 

Edward  pulled  off  his  hat,  and  declared  he 
could  creep  into  the  bushes  and  catch  a  par- 
tridge in  it.  James  started  up  the  steep  side  of 
the  valley,  to  find  one,  and,  as  usual,  tumbled 
down — no ;  this  time  it  was  up.  Adolphus 
started  through  the  bushes.  His  foot  caught  in 
a  bull-brier,  and  he  pitched  head-first  into  a 
hole.  While  all  these  mishaps  were  happening 
Mr.  Armour  was  walking  along  the  logging- 
road,  and  was  a  few  rods  in  advance.  Suddenly 


A  TRAMP  TO  "  Tx AMPS'  ROOST:*          79 

he  stopped  ;  then,  turning  back  a  few  steps,  he 
called  softly  to  the  boys  to  make  haste,  but  to 
be  very  still  about  it.  While  they  were  coming, 
he  cut,  with  his  pocket-knife,  a  sizable  alder 
from  a  clump  close  by  the  road.  This  he  was  trim- 
ming carefully,  when  the  boys  gathered  round 
him — full  of  questions,  as  a  matter  of  course. 
Edward  was  anxious  to  know  if  he  was"goin' 
fishing."  He  was  told  that  possibly  they  might 
get  a  "  bush-eel,"  whereat  there  were  ten  big 
eyes  full  of  astonishment  and  wonder. 

When  Mr.  Armour  had  reduced  his  alder  to 
a  well-trimmed  rod,  about  eight  feet  long,  he 
told  the  boys  to  follow  him  without  noise.  Go- 
ing forward  a  little  way  he  pointed  to  an  open 
space  beside  the  road  where  the  ground  was 
raised  a  bit,  and  where  the  sun's  rays  were  fall- 
ing full  and  warm.  "  O  !  O  !  O  !  O !"  sounded 
from  the  throats  of  five  startled  boys. 

On  this  flat  mound  lay  an  enormous  snake. 
It  was  not  coiled  up,  but,  as  Bernard  whispered, 
"  scattered  round  in  kinks."  Evidently  while 
it  was  sunning  itself  it  was  sleeping.  After 
they  had  watched  it  for  a  few  moments,  Mr. 
Armour  stepped  swiftly  to  within  a  few  feet  of 
it,  and  brought  his  rod  down  in  a  quick,  sharp 
stroke  that  changed  a  sleeping  snake  into  a 
black,  writhing,  reptilian  mass.  Another  sharp, 
well-directed  cut  of  the  rod,  and  the  black  folds 


8O 

relaxed,  and  became  still.  Then,  with  the  butt 
of  his  rod  in  a  fold  of  the  body,  he  drew  it  into 
the  road.  As  he  straightened  it  out  in  the 
path,  he  said: 

"The  first  blow  broke  its  back,  I  think,  and 
the  last  broke  its  neck." 

Benjamin  stared  with  big  eyes  at  the  scaly 
reptile  for  a  while  and  asked : 

"  Is  n't  it  the  biggest  snake  you  ever  saw?" 

"  It  is  the  biggest  I  have  seen  to-day,"  Mr. 
Armour  replied,  "  but  I  have  seen  larger  at  other 
times." 

In  answer  to  various  other  questions,  he  told 
them  it  was  a  black  snake.  That  there  were 
two  varieties  of  the  black  snake,  the  difference 
between  them  so  far  as  he  knew,  being  mainly 
in  the  scales.  He  laid  the  rod  which  he 
had  used  beside  the  snake,  and  found  it  was 
some  six  inches  the  longest.  He  then  said  that 
if  he  only  had  a  rule,  he  could  tell  the  length 
of  this  one.  Bdward  pulled  a  little  ivory  foot- 
rule  out  of  his  pocket,  and  offered  its  use. 

"  See  what  comes  of  being  a  carpenter's 
son,"  said  Mr.  Armour,  and  proceeded  to  measure 
the  stick,  which  proved  to  be  seven  feet  eleven 
inches  long.  When  this  was  done,  he  said : 
"You  can  tell  your  folks,  if  you  feel  you  must 
brag  a  little,  that  you  were  in  at  the  death 
of  a  snake  full  seven  feet  five  inches  long." 


A  TRAMP  TO  "  TRAMPS'  ROOST"         81 

As  they  proceeded  on  their  way  around  the 
pond,  bearing  to  the  south,  every  boy's  mind  was 
full  of,  and  his  eyes  were  on  the  watch  for, 
snakes.  They  learned  the  lesson  that  it  is  the 
unexpected  that  happens,  while  that  which  is 
much  sought  after,  is  seldom  found. 

However,  next  to  seeing  snakes  was  hearing 
about  them,  and  Mr.  Armour  had  to  meet  a 
fusilade  of  questions  from  the  squad. 

"  I  have  not  met  with  many  large  snakes," 
he  said,  "  but  I  have  seen  a  few.  I  think  most 
dictionaries  and  encyclopedias  tell  us  that  there 
is  one  species  of  black  snake  in  this  country 
five  or  six  feet  long,  and  another  seven  or  eight. 
I  do  n't  know  enough  serpent  lore  to  tell  you 
which  species  the  one  just  killed  belongs  to, 
but  I  killed  two  on  the  same  day,  and  in  the 
same  spot,  one  of  which  was  seven  feet  and  a 
half  long,  the  other  more  than  eight  feet  and  a 
half.  I  was  walking  with  my  father  one  even- 
ing when  a  boy,  and  a  man  came  out  of  a  pas- 
ture dragging  the  biggest  I  ever  saw.  How  long 
he  was  I  do  not  know.  The  man  who  had  it 
was  tall  and  large.  He  held  it  up  on  a  stick. 
The  stick  was  about  as  high  as  his  shoulder,  and 
the  head  and  tail  of  the  snake  were  on  the 
ground.  I  know  this  man  and  father  took  one 
of  the  bars  which  had  been  let  down  for  the 
cows  to  pass,  and  stretched  the  snake  out  beside 


fj 
82  ROCKTON. 

it  and  the  snake  was  the  longest.  It  must  have 
been  more  than  ten  feet  long.  The  man  who 
killed  the  snake  is  Alonzo  Buell,  the  high  sheriff 
of  this  county.  I  have  heard  my  father  tell  of 
one  that  must  have  been  still  larger.  He  saw  it 
more  than  twenty-nine  years  ago,  for  I  was  a 
six-months-old  baby  in  mother's  arms.  They  were 
driving  on  the  old  turnpike  that  runs  across  the 
country  about  six  miles  north  of  where  we  are. 
I  have  heard  my  father  tell  the  story  many  times. 
He  said  he  looked  ahead^  and  saw  a  black  snake 
lying  across  the  road.  Its  head  was  on  the  west 
side,  and  its  body  was  stretched  across  both 
wheel  ruts,  and  over  the  east  side  down  into  the 
gutter,  but  that  he  could  not  see  its  tail.  He  got 
out-  and  looked  for  a  club,  but  saw  none.  He 
did  not  dare  to  go  for  the  snake  with  his  whip. 
Mother  was  frightened  and  begged  him  to  get 
into  the  wagon  which  he  did,  and  whipped  up 
the  old  horse  to  run  over  the  snake  if  possible. 
When  he  got  within  some  forty  or  fifty  feet  of 
it,  it  drew  itself  suddenly  backwards,  and  went 
over  the  wall  and  across  the  field  at  a  rapid  rate 
with  its  head  at  least  three  feet  high.  I  never 
knew  my  mother  to  tell  an  untruth  or  exaggerate, 
and  I  have  several  times  heard  her  confirm  this 
story  of  my  father.  He  said  he  got  out — after 
the  snake  had  left,  you  understand — and  paced 
from  where  the  head  lay  to  where  he  lost  sight 


A  TRAMP  TO  "  TRAITP&  ROOST"          83 

of  the  body  in  the  tall  grass.  He  always  insisted 
that  this  serpent  was  full  fifteen,  if  not  sixteen, 
feet  long.  I  was  fishing  one  day,  and  caught 
what  you  boys  would  call  a  pumpkin  seed,  I 
suppose,  and  tossed  it  back  into  the  edge  of 
some  bushes,  and  a  striped  snake  came  squirm- 
ing along,  and  undertook  to  swallow  it  for  din- 
ner. Down  snakie's  throat  went  the  tail  and 
body  of  the  fish,  until  the  dorsal  fin  was  reached. 
Then  there  was  fun.  The  pumpkin  seed  flopped 
vigorously.  The  snake  squirmed  and  thrashed. 
The  meal  was  too  big,  or  the  eater  too  little.  I 
tapped  the  last  on  the  head,  and  pitched  the  first 
into  the  water.  But  let  us  drop  snake  yarns,  and 
climb  this  hill.  It  will  pay." 

The  road  or  path  they  had  been  following 
rose  gradually  from  the  valley,  and  wound  along 
among  the  hills.  On  the  right  was  a  steep 
wooded  eminence,  evidently  affording  an  outlook 
over  a  wide  reach  of  country.  Up  this  they 
scrambled,  shouting  and  laughing — zigzagging 
their  way  when  they  could  not  ascend  directly, 
and  when  they  reached  the  summit,  found  a 
smooth  ledge,  shaded  by  pines,  on  which  they 
clambered  for  an  outlook.  They  had  not  real- 
ized how  rapidly  the  path  they  had  been  follow- 
ing had  ascended  from  the  valley,  or  how  high 
the  hill  they  had  been  climbing.  Once  on  its 
top,  every  boy  shouted  in  sheer  delight.  Ben- 


84  ROCKTON. 

jamin  said  the  whole  world  was  below  them,  and 
cheered  for  all  creation  to  hear.  What  oceans 
of  woods  stretching  far  away  and  around  !  What 
a  view  of  Rockton,  with  its  great  hives  full  of 
human  ants,  and  its  tiny  bits  of  homes  scattered 
all  around  !  How  flat  the  Ridge  looked,  and  what 
a  mere  chalk  mark  appeared  Ridge  Street ! 

"  It 's  a  splendid  view,"  said  Adolphus. 

"I  guess  it  is,"  said  Bernard, 

"  It  '11  break  our  necks  to  get  down,"  said  James. 

"  Let 's  sit  down  on  this  rock,"  said  Edward. 

"  Let 's  have  something  to  eat,"  said  Ben- 
jamin. 

"  It 's  a  unanimous  vote,"  said  Mr.  Armour. 
"  Let 's  at  it  at  once." 

And  at  it  they  all  went  with  vigorous  jaws, 
until  nothing  was  left  of  Mr.  Long's  generous 
treat,  but  the  sheets  of  brown  paper  that  had 
been  wrapped  around  it. 

Content  with  themselves  and  all  the  world 
below,  the  various  members  of  the  little  party 
lolled  around  in  the  sunshine,  or  wandered  to 
various  points  of  observation.  Young  Grant 
picked  up,  and  carefully  smoothed  out  the  dis- 
carded wrappers,  and  went  off  by  himself.  As 
he  sat  at  a  distance  well  doubled  up,  the  paper 
on  his  knee,  and  a  stub  of  a  pencil  in  his  hand, 
Benjamin  declared  he  was  reckoning  up  the 
profits  of  the  expedition.  Whereat  Bernard  said, 


A  TRAMP  TO  ll  TRAMPS'  ROOST"          85 

he  might  be  trying  to  reckon  up  how  many  mo- 
lasses cakes  it  would  take  to  keep  Bun  in  good 
condition  on  a  week's  tramp.  Not  to  be  outdone, 
James  suggested  that  he  might  be  making  a  map 
of  the  route  they  had  traveled.  To  this  Edward 
rejoined,  by  shouting  to  the  scribbling  Adolphus 
to  "  put  in  a  big  star  to  mark  the  spot  where 
Chippy  skinned  his  nose  by  tumbling  up-hill." 

So  rippled  the  fun  from  center  to  circumfer- 
ence of  this  lofty  lookout,  until  the  suggestion 
of  Mr.  Armour,  that  it  was  "  about  time  to  be 
jogging,"  converged  the  scattered  tramps  around 
their  "  head  center." 

Adolphus  suggested  that,  in  memory  of  the 
lunch  and  rest,  the  hill-top  should  ever  after 
be  known  by  the  boys  as  "Tramps'  Roost" — a 
proposition  which  was  declared  to  be  "carried 
unanimously"  amid  tumultuous  applause. 

Bernard  followed  this  very  popular  sugges- 
tion by  another  to  the  effect  that  the  squad  of 
tramps  ought  to  provide  a  good  name  for  its 
collective  individuality.  This  set  Edward  off 
into  a  voluble  description  of  a  book  his  father 
bought  him  on  his  last  birthday  anniversary, 
which  he  described  as  "All  about  'the  Up  the 
Ladder  Club,'  "  and  affirmed  to  be  "just 
bang-up." 

Bernard's  eyes  sparkled  as  he  heard  all  this, 
and,  sidling  up  to  its  owner,  the  little  fellow 


86  ROCKTON. 

asked  for  the  loan  of  the  book.  Edward's  face 
lost  something  of  its  eager  look  as  he  mumbled 
something  about  being  afraid  it  might  get  dirty 
or  torn.  Just  at  that  moment  Mr.  Armour 
appeared  to  be  looking  towards  Rockton,  as  if 
trying  to  learn  something  new  of  its  geography, 
but  all  the  while  the  hazel  eyes  were  making 
notes.  While  the  boys  were  still  discussing 
Bernard's  suggestion,  he  sat  down  on  the  high- 
est point  of  rock,  and  said : 

"I  believe  I'm  not  quite  ready.  Sit  down, 
all  of  you."  When  each  had  disposed  of  him- 
self according  to  his  inclination,  and  all  were 
more  or  less  reclined,  he  told  them  to  look  all 
around  on  the  wonderful  scene.  "See,"  he  said, 
"how  full  of  beauty  and  delight  everything  ap- 
pears to  be."  Then  he  asked  Edward,  "Who 
made  all  these  wonderful  things?" 

"Why,  God."  This  in  a  somewhat  offended 
tone,  as  if  the  question  implied  his  ignorance. 

"What  did  God  make  all  this  for?" 

"For — for — folks,  I  s'pose." 

"Exactly.  Young  man,  when  you  think 
about  this  again,  don't  think  'God  made 
things,'  and  stop  just  there;  but  think  'God 
made  things  for  folks.'  And,  Edward,  I  wish 
you  to  tell  me  who  made  the  nice  house  I  see 
away  over  there,  on  Ridge  Street.  The  biggest 
one,  I  mean." 


A  TRAMP  TO  "TRAMP&  ROOST."          87 

"  Why,  you  know,  Mr.  Armour.  Father 
built  it." 

"Never  mind  what  I  know  Who  put  all 
the  nice  things  in  it?  And  who  pays  for  all  the 
good  things  to  eat?" 

"  Father." 

"What  does  he  do  all  this  for?" 

"W-why,  for  mother  an'  Sarah  an'  me." 

"Why  does  he  do  it?" 

"'Cause  he  loves  us."  This  very  emphat- 
ically. 

"Why  does  he  love  you?" 

The  boy  wrinkled  his  forehead,  as  if  per- 
plexed. Mr.  Armour  said: 

"Think  it  out,  Edward,"  and  waited. 

At  length  the  wrinkles  smoothed,  and 
Chumpy  answered: 

"I  guess  it's  because  he  is  a  good  man." 

"There  never  was  a  more  correct  guess," 
said  Mr.  Armour.  "Now,  I  wish  you  all  to  re- 
member this  catechism  I  have  put  Edward 
through,  and  apply  it  to  what  we  began  with. 
Did  God  make  all  we  see?"  Five  boys  nodded 
assent.  "Did  he  make  this  for  folks — for  us?" 
Five  heads  bobbed  again.  "Did  he  make  this 
for  us  because  he  loved  us?"  Still  again  five 
heads  bowed.  "Now  think,  as  Edward  did. 
Doesn't  he  love  us  because  he  is  good?"  There 
was  a  deeper  expression  in  each  eye,  and,  as 


88  ROCKTON. 

once  more  five  heads  slowly  nodded,  the  lips  of 
each  said,  "Yes." 

Mr.  Armour  sat  awhile  in  silence,  which  the 
boys  shared.  At  length  he  brought  his  eyes  to 
bear  on  Edward,  who  saw  another  question  in- 
evitable. 

"You  say  your  father  is  a  good  man.  He 
is; — one  of  the  best.  But  suppose,  Edward, 
that  he  let  your  mother,  sister,  and  yourself  live 
in  a  hovel,  and  wouldn't  earn  bread,  or  fire,  or 
clothes  for  you,  nor  do  the  smallest  thing  to 
make  you  comfortable  and  happy, — in  such  a 
case,  what  kind  of  a  father  would  you  think 
him  to  be?" 

The  boy  was  growing  defiant  at  the  bare 
supposition ;  but  he  blurted  out : 

"He'd  be  a  mighty  mean  one." 

"Why  would  he  be  mean?" 

"'Cause  he  would.  He  'd  be  stingy  and  lazy 
'nd  ugly  'nd  selfish!" 

"  Precisely.  You  are  a  bright  boy,  Edward. 
Now,  tell  me;  if  a  father  should  do  everything 
for  his  children,  and  fill  all  their  lives  with 
plenty  and  sunshine,  and  one  of  his  boys  should 
be  stingy,  wanting  all  the  good  things  himself, 
and  selfish,  ready  to  take  all  he  could  get,  and 
never  wishing  to  do  anything  for  others,  what 
kind  of  a  boy  would  you  call  him?" 

Now,  Edward  was,  as  Sarah  once  told  him, 


A  TRAMP  TO  "TRAMPS'  ROOST"          89 

"a  greedy  little  pig"  in  many  things.  It  wa 
his  one  great  fault  to  be  selfish.  To  his  credit 
it  must  be  set  down  that  he  was  an  honest  lit- 
tle fellow.  He  blushed  a  rosy  red  under  his 
freckles,  and  it  ran  to  hide  itself  under  the  roots 
of  his  hair ;  but  he  looked  up  bravely  in  Mr. 
Armour's  eyes  and  answered  : 

"I  guess  he  'd  be  a  mighty  mean  boy." 
No  comment  direct  followed  this  reply,  but  a 
few  remarks  were  made  by  Mr.  Armour  on  the 
whole  matter. 

"You  see,  boys,  just  how  it  is.  If  a  father 
loves  his  son,  the  son  ought  to  love  him  in  re- 
turn, and  learn  by  this  to  love  others.  God  is 
good.  Because  he  is,  he  loves  us.  Because  he 
loves  us,  he  blesses  us.  We  ought  to  love  him 
in  return.  If  we  have  his  love  in  us,  we  will 
love  him  because  he  is  good;  and  we  will  love 
all  his  creatures,  and  try  to  do  them  good. 
This  is  just  what  the  Golden  Rule  means,  and 
this  is  just  why  we  are  taught  to  love  one  an- 
other. Now,  I  wish  you  to  put  one  thing  down 
in  your  minds,  and  never  forget  it.  Selfishness 
is  the  meanest,  wickedest  thing  in  all  the  big 
universe.  It  is  at  the  bottom  of  all  sin,  if  it 
is  n't  the  sin  itself.  God  is  unselfish.  If  we 
are  like  him,  we  will  be  so  too.  The  more  un- 
selfish we  are,  the  better  we  will  be.  The  lec- 
ture is  ended.  I  propose  you  break  ranks  for 


go  ROCKTON. 

two  or  three  minutes,  while  I  confer  with  Lieu- 
tenant Grant." 

But  the  lecture  was  not  quite  ended.  Ed- 
ward was  seen  walking  away,  with  his  arm  over 
Bernard's  shoulder,  and  he  was  saying: 

"You  '11  like  all  about  Sid  and  Charley  'nd 
Aunt  Stanshy  'nd  the  rest.  Father  has  promised 
to  get  the  rest  of  the  set,  'nd  you  shall  have  them 
when  they  conie." 


CHAPTER  V. 

BUILDING  A  RUSTIC  BRIDGE. 

ARMOUR'S  conference  with  young 
Grant    did    not    consume    many    mo- 
ments.    When  the  boys  drew  together  again, 
Edward  called  attention  to  Bernard's  sugges- 
tion, which   had   led   them   out  into    such  a 
•'rwide    field,    and    proposed    that   they    come 
back  to  it.     Said  he  : 

"  It  won't  do  for  us  to  travel  much  further 
without  a  name." 

Mr.  Armour  proposed  that  each  should  sug- 
gest a  name  in  turn,  until  one  should  be  found 
on  which  all  could  agree.  He  further  proposed 
that  the  eldest  should  make  the  first  suggestion, 
and  so  downward  to  the  youngest.  There  be- 
ing no  dissent,  Adolphus  was  the  first  asked  to 
propose  a  name. 

"  Merry  Rangers,"  said  he. 
"Not  much,"  snorted  Edward. 
"  Don't  like  it,"  followed  James. 
"No;  don't  I,"  echoed  Benjamin. 
"  It 's  pretty  good,"  assented  Bernard. 

91 


92 

"  Now,  Edward,  it  is  your  turn ;  see  if  you 
can  better  it." 

"Lively  Squad." 

"  Pooh  !  worse  than  mine,"  avowed  Adolphus. 

"  Next  thing  to  squat,"  laughed  James. 

"Sounds  flat,"  criticised  Benjamin. 

"  It  might  do,"  allowed  Bernard.' 

Then  it  was  James's  turn. 

"  Happy  Tramps,"  he  shouted. 

"  Tramps  do  n't  look  happy,"  disputed 
Adolphus. 

"Tramps  steal,"  charged  Edward. 

"  Tramps  are  always  hungry,"  squeaked 
Benjamin. 

"  And  want  cold  victuals,"  put  in   Bernard. 

"Now,  Master  Benjamin,  do  your  level  best 
and  name  this  concern,"  said  Mr.  Armour. 
Benjamin  was  a  little  slow,  for  the  other  boys 
playfully  suggested  the  names  of  various  eatables 
he  could  use,  and  he  said  they  "  put  him  out." 

"  Five  Scouts,"  was  his  nomination. 

"  I  scout  that,"  declared  Adolphus. 

"Fiddlesticks,"  derogated  Edward. 

"  Won't  be  one,"  protested  James. 

"It's  N.  G.,"  affirmed  Bernard. 

"  Well,  Bernard,  it  turns  out  that  on  your 
young  shoulders  'rest  this  heavy  burden  of  re- 
sponsibility. I  trust  you  are  aware  that  our 
eyes  are  upon  you.  Give  us  a  name  odd 


BUILDING  A  RUSTIC  BRIDGE.  93 

enough,  musical  enough,  and  yet  common 
enough  to  please  us  all." 

This  grandiloquent  speech  had  well-nigh 
upset  poor  Bernard  if  he  had  not  thought  to 
look  up  into  Mr.  Armour's  eyes,  and  had  not 
seen  therein  kindliness  and  encouragement. 
This  helped  him  rally  his  courage,  and  he  said  : 

"  If  you  can't  find  anything  better — as  there 
are  five  of  us  boys,  and  we  make  some  noise — 
we  might  call  ourselves  'The  Jolly  Quintet.'" 

"I'll  agree  to  that,"  assented  Adolphus. 

"Best  of  all,"  asseverated  Edward. 

"  Better  'n  none,"  chirped  James. 

"  Do  n't  care  what  you  call  us,  s'  long's  we're 
not  called  late  to  dinner,"  very  characteristically 
piped  Benjamin. 

And  so  it  was  settled.  To  make  sure  the 
name  was  a  good  fit  the  boys  sent  up  three 
lusty  cheers  and  a  tiger.  Then  Mr.  Armour 
said  he  had  discovered  that  Master  Adolphus 
had  been  indulging  his  poetical  fancies,  and 
probably  had  made  'The  Jolly  Quintet'  immortal 
in  verse,  and  that  he  hoped  his  young  friend 
would  gratify  all  by  reading  what  he  had  writ- 
ten. Adolphus,  of  course,  blushed  modestly  as 
became  so  young  a  poet,  and  asked  to  be  ex- 
cused five  minutes  until  he  could  put  the  finish- 
ing touch  to  his  lines,  which  the  new  name 
made  necessary.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he 


94  ROCKTON. 

read  from  the  luncheon-wrappers  the  following, 
which  he  had  scribbled  while  the  others  were 
conversing : 

"WHO  THEY  WERE." 

BY  ONE  OF  THEM. 

Six  wonderful  tramps 

Went  on  a  spree, 
And  frightened  a  bird 

Under  a  tree. 

Now  this  jolly  six, 

Which  were  three  pair, 
Just  made  all  the  birds 

And  rabbits  stare. 

There  was  Chumpy ;  he, 

Was  awful  fat, 
But  tried  to  catch  the 

Bird  in  his  hat. 

There  was  Chippy  ;  he 

Seldom  was  still, 
And  tumbled  alike 

Down  or  up  hill. 

There  was  Brick ;  he  was 

Still  as  a  mouse, 
And  had  far  the  most 

Cake  in  his  blouse. 

There  was  Bun  ;  he  felt 

A  hungry  ache 
As  long  as  he  had 

A  bit  of  cake. 

There  was  Dolly ;  he 

Was  tall  as  a  pole, 
But  managed  to  get 

Dumped  in  a  hole. 


BUILDING  A  RUSTIC  BRIDGE  95 

The  sixth  was  a  Mr. 

Armour  by  name. 
Who  found  the  snake,  and 

Finished  the  same. 

These  were  the  six  birds 

Of  a  feather ; 
Or  tramps  who  traveled 

The  woods  together. 

In  years  to  come,  when 

Historians  squint  it, 
They  '11  write  big  things  of 

The  Jolly  Quintet. 

This  epic  was  punctuated  by  a  round  of  ap- 
plause at  the  mention  of  each  name,  and  at  its 
conclusion  received,  as  newpaper  reports  are 
apt  to  say,  "vociferous  applause." 

The  young  poet  both  blushed  and  bowed  his 
acknowledgments,  and  apologized  for  the  dis- 
crepancy between  the  number  six,  which  he  had 
used  nearly  all  the  way  through,  and  the  quintet 
of  the  last  line.  He,  however,  saw  no  way  to 
help  himself.  There  were  "six  on  the  tramp," 
and  the  boys  had  voted  themselves  a  "  quintet." 

Mr.  Armour  said : 

"  If  posterity  happens  to  discover  the  incon- 
gruity, it  can  set  it  down  as  a  fine  example  of 
poetic  //r-sense.  In.  this  prosaic  present,  we 
know  it  to  be  sober  truth.  But  it  is  time  for  us 
to  be  on  the  trail.  I  am  going  to  lead.  Let 
every  boy  look  sharp  !" 


96  ROCKTON. 

This  "Look  sharp"  was  good  advice,  for 
they  were  led  down  the  southeast  side  of  the 
hill  at  a  rattling  pace,  and  the  descent  was  steep. 
Lieutenant  Grant  reported  that  James  distanced 
the  rest,  being  helped  along  by  several  surprising 
tumbles.  When  they  reached  the  bottom,  their 
pace  was  not  much  slackened.  All  were  well 
rested,  and  all  eager  to  follow.  Mr.  Armour  ap- 
peared to  be  familiar  with  the  woods.  Without 
stopping,  and  with  only  now  and  then  a  quick 
glance  around,  he  decided  his  course.  Taking 
advantage  of  natural  formations,  and  avoiding 
thickets,  in  about  ten  minutes,  rapid  walking,  the 
squad  was  drawn  up  around  him  in  the  country 
road  that  runs  eastward  from  Rockton.  He 
suggested  that  if  they  had  already  met  with 
mild  adventures  enough  to  satisfy  them  they 
could  easily  march  home  in  a  short  time.  This, 
Edward  vigorously  scouted,  affirming  that  he 
was  n't  "  tired  one  bit,"  and  that  the  afternoon 
was  n't  more  than  "  half  gone."  The  rest 
chorused  a  desire  for  more  adventures  if  they 
could  be-  had.  Of  this  Mr.  Armour  was  not 
quite  sure.  He  said  : 

"I  have  thought  if  we  could  reach  a  spot  I 
know  of  that  is,  perhaps,  a  mile  away,  we  could 
find  some  early  spring  flowers  that  would  well 
pay  us  for  the  trouble." 

"Jolly!  if  it  ain't  but  a  mile,  we  can  do  that 


BUILDING  A  RUSTIC  BRIDGE.  97 

in  no  time,"  commented  James.  "  I  am  afraid 
it  will  prove  to  be  with  us  as  it  was  with  a 
chap  I  heard  of  whose  '  best  girl '  lived  within 
half  a  mile  of  him,  and  yet  was  three  milos 
away." 

"  My  !  how  could  that  be?"  asked  Benjamin. 

"Easy  enough,"  replied  Mr.  Armour;  "his 
girl  lived  across  the  river,  and  within  a  half 
mile,  but  he  had  to  go  up  stream  a  mile  and  a 
half  to  find  a  bridge." 

"  Pooh!' why  didn't  the  goose  take  a  boat?" 
put  in  Bernard. 

"  For  precisely  the  same  reason  that  I  am 
afraid  will  bring  us  to  grief,"  was  the  answer, 
"the  want  of  a  boat.  There  is  a  narrow  strip  of 
swampy  land  south  of  us,  and  quite  long.  Later 
in  the  season  it  is  generally  dry  enough  to  cross, 
but  I  reckon  we  shall  find  it  wet  enough  now." 

"  We  can  do  as  that  fellow  did  when  he 
went  to  see  his  girl ;  we  can  go  round,"  said 
Grant,  sagely. 

"Yes,  we  can;  but  I  judge  we  won't;  at 
least  not  to-day.  If  we  should  try  the  west  end, 
we  would  have  rough  land  and  tangled  thickets, 
that  would  destroy  all  the  pleasure  of  the  walk. 
Then,  if  we  should  undertake  to  go  round  the 
east  end,  the  swamp  is  broader,  and  we  would 
have  a  good  three  miles'  scramble,  and  by  the 
time  we  could  reach  the  place  I  desire,  it  would 

9 


98  ROCKTON. 

be    too    late    to  spend    any  time  there,  and  get 
home  before  dark." 

"Let's  wade  through  the  swamp,"  proposed 
Edward. 

"  I  am  afraid  you  would  not  find  it  as  easy 
or  safe  as  wading  through  a  frog-pond  to  finish 
an  African  voyage." 

This  reply  subdued  Edward  to  a  very  solemn 
silence,  and  set  James  to  snorting  in  a  very  ex-, 
plosive  way. 

If  the  faces  of  some  of  the  boys  showed  ev- 
idence of  disappointment,  that  of  young  Wal- 
ters wore  a  look  of  great  confidence. 

"He'll  find  a  way,"  he  said,  in  an  aside  to 
Adolphus. 

This  was  not  altogether  misplaced  confi- 
dence ;  for  the  object  of  it  straightened  himself 
up,  and  said: 

"This  isn't  quite  the  thing.  Standing  here 
doesn't  get  us  anywhere.  Remember  this'  ir- 
resolution is  a  vice;  decision  of  character  is  a 
virtue,  in  boy  or  man.  Don't  be  pig-headed 
or  selfishly  obstinate;  but  be  decided,  and  don't 
waste  time  in  debating  whether  it  is  best  to  be 
it.  One  thing  more :  be  decided  in  your  sports, 
and  all  little  things  as  well  as  big.  Edward,  it 
is  better  for  you  to  put  this  all  down  in  your 
memory  and  act  on  it,  than  to  find  a  crocodile 
or  shoot  a  buffalo.  The  point  with  us  now  is 


BUILDING  A  RUSTIC  BRIDGE.  99 

to  get  across  the  swamp.  I  think  a  straight 
line  to  the  place  I  wish  to  reach  would  not 
oblige  us  to  walk  much  over  three-quarters  of  a 
mile.  I  happen  to  know  that  this  swamp  is 
really  two  swamps.  There  is  a  tongue  of  land 
that  runs  nearly  across  it.  All  we  have  to  do  is 
to  go  to  the  next  bars,  lay  our  course  directly  for 
this  point,  and  get  across  if  we  can.  If  we  find 
we  can't,  we  can  do  the  next  best  thing,  which 
probably  will  be  honestly  to  own  up  we  are 
beat,  back  out  as  gracefully  as  circumstances 
will  allow,  and  get  ourselves  good-naturedly 
home.  Come  on!" 

It  required  but  a  moment  to  reach  the  bars. 
As  they  scrambled  over  and  under  and  through, 
Adolphus  expressed  wonder  that  any  one  should 
take  the  trouble  to  build  a  wall  or  fence  around 
such  poor  land.  Mr.  Armour,  as  usual,  had  a 
story  to  fit.  He  said: 

"I  heard  of  a  traveler  who  was  riding  along 
over  a  very  poor  strip  of  country,  and  came 
upon  another  man  who  was  building  a  fence. 
He  pulled  up  his  horse,  and  said:  'What,  in  the 
name  of  common  sense,  are  you  fencing  that 
land  for?  Why,  there  isn't  a  blade  of  grass 
growing  on  it,  and  there  never  will.  Bless  you ! 
if  the  cattle  should  get  into  it,  they  would  starve 
to  death.'  The  other  man  squinted  at  the  post 
he  was  setting,  to  see  if  it  was  plumb,  and  then 


100  ROCKTON. 

replied:  'Waal,  stranger,  thet's  jest  it.  I'm 
buildin'  this  yer  fence  to  keep  'em  aout.' " 

This  was  a  philosophical  explanation,  satis- 
factory to  all  the  boys,  and  .they  laughingly  fol- 
lowed the  swift  steps  of  their  leader,  who  was 
taking  a  bee-line  for  the  point  of  land  he  had 
described.  Evidently  he  was  familiar  with  the 
way,  and  the  boys,  who  were  following  in  single 
file,  had  nothing  to  do  but  follow.  This  must 
be  slightly  qualified  ;  for  James,  overflowing 
with  customary  eagerness,  not  only  had  to  fol- 
low, but  several  times  had  to  pick  himself  out 
of  the  bushes  into  which  he  inadvertently 
tumbled.  The  rapid  pace  and  the  unevenness 
of  the  ground  tried  Edward's  wind,  but  he  held 
on  good-naturedly  until  Mr.  Armour's  cheery, 
"  Here  we  are,"  brought  a  respite. 

It  required  but  a  glance  for  each  boy  to  see 
how  accurate  was  the  knowledge  of  their  leader 
in  regard  to  the  route  he  had  chosen.  The 
strip  of  high  land  was  thrust  almost  across  the 
swamp.  Indeed,  from  its  extreme,  it  was  ap- 
parently not  more  than  ten  feet  to  the  other 
side,  which  was  an  abrupt  bank  on  which  were 
growing  a  few  hemlocks.  It  did  look  to  the  eager 
boys  as  though  they  could  jump  the  little  space. 
Adolphus  offered  to  try  it  while  Edward  re- 
newed his  suggestion  to  wade  across.  Mr.  Ar- 
mour refused  to  allow  either  attempt  to  be  made, 


BUILDING  A  RUSTIC  BRIDGE.  101 

telling  them  that  while  he  had  generally  found 
it  dry  enough  at  this  point  to  cross,  the  amount 
of  water  then  in  the  swamp  rendered  it  impos- 
sible; that,  what  might  be  a  soil  dry  enough 
in  a  short  time  to  bear  the  weight  of  a  person, 
was  then  only  an  oozy  mire,  several  feet  deep, 
and  if  either  got  stuck  in  it,  it  would  be  well- 
nigh  impossible  to  get  out. 

"I  gave  you,"  he  said,  "back  in  the  road,  a 
lecture  on  decision.  Now  open  your  ears  for 
another.  Always  keep  your  wits  about  you. 
Like  Barnaby  Rudge's  raven  Grip,  '  never  say 
die.'  If  you  get  in  a  corner,  do  n't  be  confused. 
Do  n't  try  to  think  of  forty  things  all  at  once. 
This  would  be  confusion  in  itself.  Think  of  one 
way  out.  If  that  way  appears  to  be  no  way, 
then  try  another.  Think  of  one  thing  at  a  time 
until  you  think  of  the  right  thing.  Now,  here 
we  are,  with  at  least  ten  feet  of  water,  and  very 
soft  mud  between  us,  and  a  steep  bank  we  wish 
to  reach.  What  shall  we  do  ?  Shall  we  back 
out?" 

"  No,"  answered  every  nonplused  boy. 

"  Having  settled  it  as  the  first  thing  that  we 
won't  give  it  up,  the  next  thing  in  order  is — 
what  ?  Who  can  tell  ? 

"  Get  across,  of  course,"  volunteered    James. 

"  But  is  getting  across  the  first  thing  ?" 

"  'Course    it   ain't,"  replied  Edward.     "  The 


102  ROCKTON. 

first  thing  is  to  make  a  bridge,  and  then  we  can 
get  across  just  as  easy  as  nothing." 

"  Suppose,  then,  we  all  agree  with  Edward, 
and  consider  it  settled  that  the  next  thing  we 
are  to  do  is  to  build  a  bridge,"  said  Mr.  Ar- 
mour. "Then  the  next  thing  to  determine  is 
what  kind  of  a  bridge.  If  it  is  to  be  a  single 
arch,  then  we  must  have  plenty  of  stone,  out  of 
which  we  can  build  our  piers.  Shall  it  be  of 
trestle  work?  or  a  suspension  bridge?  or  what? 
Besides,  who  is  the  smart  chap  on  whom  we  can 
rely  to  build  the  other  end?" 

There  were  ten  dubiously  lighted  eyes  that  sent 
wandering  glances  up  and  down,  and  all  around. 
There  were  a  pair  of  hazel  eyes  also,  glancing 
around  ;  but  these  were  full  of  mirthfulness.  At 
length  their  owner  said  : 

"Adolphus,  can't  you  help  us  out  of  this 
scrape?" 

"  N-no,  sir  ;  unless  we  can  build  a  monkey 
bridge." 

There  was  a  still  more  roguish  gleam  in 
Mr.  Armour's  eyes,  as  he  asked  : 

"  Do  you  mean  to  intimate  that  there  is 
plenty  of  material  for  such  a  bridge  at  hand?" 

Edward  and  James  pretended  to  be  very  in- 
dignant with  Adolphus  for  calling  them  monkeys, 
and  fell  to  scolding  him  at  a  furious  rate,  he  all 
the  while  protesting  his  innocence.  Benjamin 


BUILDING  A  RUSTIC  BRIDGE.  103 

took  no  part  in  this  diversion,  but  was  hunting 
his  pockets  for  a  stray  bit  of  cake,  while  Mr. 
Armour  and  Bernard  were  enjoying  the  fun 
hugely.  Finally  the  latter  came  to  the  rescue, 
and  said: 

"  Do  n't  jaw  him  any  longer.  If  he  wants  a 
monkey  bridge,  let 's  lay  him  across  the  mud  as  far 
as  he  will  reach,  and  then  we  can  jump  the  rest." 

Mr.  Armour  thought  best  to  interfere  at  this 
point. 

"  I  am  thinking,  Adolphus,  that  you  will 
have  to  pray,  as  a  friend  of  mine  said,  he  was 
obliged  to  pray,  to  be  delivered  from  your  friends. 
The  only  way  out  for  you  that  I  can  see,  is  to 
tell  us  what  you  meant  by  a  monkey  bridge." 

Bernard  promised  that  if  he  would  do  this 
he  should  not  be  used  for  a  stringer.  Thus  as- 
sured Adolphus,  explained. 

u  I  read  in  a  book  of  travels  that  monkeys 
make  bridges  of  themselves  when  they  want  to 
cross  small  rivers.  A  monkey  will  run  up  a 
tree  and  hold  on  to  a  high  branch  with  his  tail 
and  hind  feet ;  then  another  will  climb  the  tree 
and  get  hold  of  the  other  in  the  same  way ;  and 
they  will  keep  on  until  they  have  a  chain  of 
monkeys  hanging  from  the  branch.  Then  they 
will  manage  to  swing  back  and  forth  until  the 
lower  end  swings  across  the  stream,  when  the 
end  monkey  catches  hold  of  something,  and  the 


104  ROCKTON. 

bridge  is  made.  All  the  rest  of  them  have  to 
do  is  to  run  up  the  tree  and  down  the  chain  of 
monkeys,  and  so  get  across." 

"  Tell  your  granny  such  a  lie,"  shouted 
Edward.  "  How  are  the  monkeys  in  the  bridge 
to  get  over?" 

All  laughed  at  this  sally  ;  but  Master  Grant 
was  equal  to  the  emergency.  "  I  do  n't  know 
anything  about  it.  I  'in  only  telling  you  what 
the  book  said.  It  had  a  picture  of  a  string  of 
monkeys  hanging  from  the  upper  branch  of  a 
tree  on  one  side  of  a  river,  and  stretched  across 
it  to  the  lower  branch  of  a  tree  on  the  other 
side.  The  book  also  said  that,  when  all  the 
monkeys,  except  those  on  the  bridge  were  over, 
that  a  big  monkey  would  let  the  one  at  the  lower 
end  of  the  bridge  get  hold  of  him  and  then  he 
would  run  up  the  tree  to  the  top  and  get  hold  of 
a  limb  there.  Then  the  other  end  would  let  go 
and  swing  over.  Then  they  could  take  their 
bridge  to  pieces  in  the  same  way  they  made  it." 

When  he  was  done,  Bernard  chuckled  and 
said :  u  Well,  if  we  are  monkeys,  we  have  n't  got 
tails.  So  your  scheme  is  n.  g." 

This  was  so  self-evident  as  to  need  no  reply. 
The  boys  looked  at  Mr.  Armour  as  if  to  ask, 
"What  next?"  To  this  unspoken  question  he 
replied  : 

"  If  we    can't   build  a  monkey  bridge,  Adol- 


BUILDING  A  RUSTIC  BRIDGE.  105 

phus's  description  suggests  something.  We  might 
prove  the  theory  that  men  are  descended  from 
monkeys,  by  our  power  of  imitation  Suppos- 
now  there  was  a  tall  white  birch  right  here,  why 
could  n't  one  of  us  climb  it,  and  bend  it  down, 
and  then  we  all  get  hold  and  give  it  a  swing 
across  to  the  other  side,  would  n't  it  be  as  good 
as  a  monkey  bridge?" 

"  'Course    it    would,"    affirmed    Edward,   ap- 
provingly. 

"  Let 's  do  it,"  said  James,  staring  around 
resolutely. 

" Agreed,"  replied  Mr  Armour;  "but  won't 
you  please  put  your  hand  on  the  particular  birch 
you  think  best  adapted  to  be  our  bridge." 

"  Whew !"  ejaculated  the  boy,  and  then 
puckered  his  lips  drolly,  and  blew  a  long,  shrill 
whistle  that  gave  further  expression  to  his  blank 
amazement.  Mr.  Armour  laughed,  for  he  had 
caught  them  all  with  his  supposititious  tree. 
There  was  not  a  white  birch  in  sight  on  their  side 
of  the  swamp,  though  they  could  discern  the 
graceful  shape  of  several  on  the  higher  land  on 
the  other  side. 

Young  Grant  evidently  was  making  a  prac- 
tical use  of  the  lecture  on  thinking,  for  he 
asked : 

"  If  there  is  no  birch  can  't  we  make  some 
other  tree  do?" 


106  ROCKTON. 

"  Perhaps  not  as  well,"  was  the  reply : 
"  Still,  another  kind  of  tree  would  do,  if  we 
could  use  it.  There  stands  one  that,  if  my  eyes 
don't  deceive  me,  is  long  enough  to  reach 
across.  What  if  we  should  try  to  bend  it 
down  ?» 

"  It 's  too  big  "— "  too  stiff  "— "  we  can  »t," 
were  the  answers. 

"  Never  mind  about  all  that,"  he  went  on. 
"  Suppose  we  try.  Who  '11  volunteer  to  shin  it?" 

Four  of  the  boys  glanced  dubiously  up  into 
the  tree,  but  not  a  young  hero  stirred  or  looked 
as  heroes  are  supposed  to  do.  Bernard  alone 
surveyed  the  natural  ladder  complacently,  as  he 
said: 

"  I  could  climb  the  thing  easy  enough,  but 
I  could  n't  bend  it  any  more  than  a  crow  could 
by  lighting  on  it."  Considering  his  size  this  was 
pretty  fair  judgment 

"Are  n't  you  afraid  to  climb  it?"  asked  Mr. 
Armour. 

"  No,"  answered  the  boy,  "  I  've  climbed 
bigger  ones  than  that." 

"  Well,  Adolphus,  you  are  larger  and  stronger 
than  Bernard — can  't  you  climb  it  for  us?" 

Adolphus  grew  rosy,  and  gazed   at   the  tree 
intently  for  a  moment.     Then  he   grew   rosier 
and  shook  his  head. 
"Afraid?" 


BUILDING  A  RUSTIC  BRIDGE.  107 

"I  —  I  guess  I  am,"  he  replied,  a  little 
faintly. 

"  Good  for  you,"  said  Mr.  Armour,  as  he  put 
his  hand  on  the  lad's  shoulder :  "  I  'm  afraid  to 
risk  my  bones  too !  Catch  me  climbing  trees 
when  I  can  get  along  without  it.  Catch  me 
taking  any  risks  when  there  is  no  need.  When 
I  was  a  youngster  I  could  climb  almost  any- 
where. I  had  a  light  body,  and  strong  hands 
and  arms.  No  matter  how  high  up  I  went  I 
never  grew  dizzy,  or  was  in  the  least  frightened. 
But  I  went  down  South,  and  had  while  there 
the  swamp  fever,  and  since  that  I  have  been 
dizzy  if  I  went  up  very  far.  I  'm  not  a  bit 
ashamed  to  say  I  am  afraid.  I  dislike  very 
much  to  ride  in  elevators.  I  always  feel  queer 
if  I  am  in  the  upper  stories  of  a  tall  building. 
It  is  no  special  credit  to  Bernard  that  he  can 
climb  that  tree.  He  could  do  it  safely  prob- 
ably. It  is  no  discredit  to  the  rest  of  us  that 
we  have  no  inclination  to  try  it.  Listen,  my 
young  friends,  to  another  important  lecture. 
The  theme  is  TRUE  COURAGE.  Courage  is  not 
to  face  danger  because  it  is  danger,  but  because 
it  is  duty.  It  is  not  courage  for  a  boy  or  man 
to  do  a  risky  or  dangerous  thing  simply  be- 
cause it  is  such,  or  he  is  dared  to  do  it.  To 
do  this  is  the  opposite  of  courageousness,  and 
and  is  rightly  called  foolhardiness.  One  ought 


108  ROCKTON. 

to  be  afraid  to  hazard  life  or  limb  unneces- 
sarily. Rather  than  a  weakness,  it  is  a  virtue. 
The  true  hero  is  neither  bully  nor  fool.  Keep 
out  of  danger  if  you  can ;  but  when  it  ought  to 
be  faced,  then  face  it  the  best  you  can.  I 
heard,  years  ago,  a  story  of  two  officers  who 
were  riding  side  by  side  into  a  battle.  One 
was  very  jolly  and  unconcerned,  the  other  was 
very  quiet.  The  jolly  fellow  looked  up  into 
the  other's  face,  and  saw  it  was  white.  He 
felt  indignant  at  him  for  what  he  thought  his 
cowardice,  and  said:  'You're  scared.'  'Yes,' 
said  the  other,  'I  am  scared.  Ifjy0*were  half 
as  scared  as  I  am  you  would  run;'  which  was 
probably  the  truth.  True  courage  is  not  to  be 
fearless  of,  or  insensible  to  danger.  I  am  in- 
clined to  think  that  real  heroes  have  always 
been  capable  of  fear.  They  have  been  more 
courageous  because  of  it.  Be  afraid  of  many 
things.  Be  afraid  of  getting  hurt  when  there  is 
no  need!  Be  afraid  of  doing  a  mean  or  selfish 
thing!  Be  terribly  afraid  of  anything  low  or 
wicked !  The  lecture  is  ended.  '  Attention, 
Company!'  We  must  build  not  a  monkey  bridge, 
but  a  bridge  for  Darwin's  children  of  monkeys, 
in  five  minutes.  Follow  as  fast  as  you  can, 
and  work  like  beavers." 

He   led    the    way    rapidly    to   a    clump    of 
alders,  and  with  his   stout-bladed  pocket  knife 


BUILDING  A  RUSTIC  BRIDGE.  109 

began  to  cut  them  down,  telling  the  boys  to 
carry  them  to  where  they  were  to  bridge  the 
bog.  He  worked  until  each  had  a  load,  and 
then  followed  what  he  called  his  "  long  brush  " 
to  lay  it  across  the  narrow  strip  of  oozy  mud. 
It  required  but  a  few  moments  to  do  this,  and 
then  he  stepped  back  a  few  paces — enough  to 
give  him  a  short  run,  and  allow  him  to  jump 
to  the  other  side ;  a  not  very  remarkable  feat, 
but  one  that  excited  the  admiration  of  the  boys. 
He  pulled  himself  up  the  bank,  and  cut  a  few 
armfuls  of  boughs  from  a  drooping  hemlock. 
These  he  cast  down  the  bank,  and  following 
them  began  to  lay  them  across  the  alders,  trusting 
his  weight  upon  them  until  he  had  made  the 
whole  length  safe.  The  bridge  was  a  fact.  It 
was  rustic  and  safe.  It  was  the  work  of  but  a 
few  moments.  The  Jolly  Quintet  went  over  dry 
shod. 


VL- 


CHAPTER 

SPRING  BEAUTIES  IN  BLOOM. 

IT  did  not  require  long  for  The  Quintet  to 
scramble  up  the  bank  after  the  long  legs 
of  their  leader.     As  they  paused  for  a  mo- 
ment to  recover  breath  under  the  hemlocks, 
Bernard,  who  had  kept  close  to  Mr.  Armour 
all  the  while,  looked  up  shyly,  and  said : 
"  I    guess  you  knew   all    the  while  how  we 
could  get  over." 

"Young  man,"  was  the  reply,  "are  you  try- 
ing to  make  me  convict  myself  of  playing 
rogue  ?"  Then  seeing  that  the  boy's  eyes  shot 
out  an  indignant  denial  of  this  counter-charge, 
he  continued :  "  No,  I  did  not  have  any  partic- 
ular way  in  mind.  I  felt  confident  that  there 
would  be  some  way.  I  only  thought  that  it 
might  prove  a  good  opportunity  to  teach  you 
boys  to  think  when  you  are  in  a  corner  instead 
of  getting  muddled.  It  was  n't  much  of  a  lesson 
or  much  of  an  emergency.  Perhaps  this  was  all 
no 


SPRING  BEAUTIES  IN  BLOOM.          in 

the  better.  It  is  a  good  way  to  begin  with  small 
things,  and  by  them  learn  to  manage  larger 
things.  The  alder  bridge  was  only  one  thing  I 
thought  of  while  we  were  chatting  and  plan- 
ning. I  took  that  because  it  gave  all  something 
to  do." 

"What  other  way  was  there?"  asked 
Chumpy. 

Mr.  Armour  pointed  to  what  had  been  a 
small  tree,  but  having  been  uprooted,  it  had  lain 
where  it  fell  until  most  of  the  branches,  and 
part  of  the  top  had  rotted  away. 

"There,"  said  he,  "is  a  bridge  ready  made. 
Probably  we  would  u't  have  to  go  far  to  find 
others.  My  first  thought  when  I  found  there 
was  too  much  mud  for  you  to  jump,  was  to 
jump  over  myself,  and  find  something  like  that 
half-rotten  tree,  and  drag  it  along  for  you  to  use 
as  a  bridge.  I  '11  warrant  we  could  devise 
another  way  if  there  was  any  need." 

"  'Course  we  could,"  chimed  in  Edward. 
"  Just  see  there  " — pointing  to  four  thin,  flat 
stones  that  looked  like  layers  split  from  a  seamy 
ledge.  "  I  could  take  and  lay  one  out  about  two 
feet  from  the  edge,  step  on  it,  and  lay  down 
another  about  as  far  off.  The  four  of  'em  would 
let  me  go  across." 

"You  make  me  think  of  Pomp's  conun- 
drum," responded  Mr.  Armour.  "  He  asked, 


112  ROCKTON. 

Sambo,  '  How  'am  it  dat  de  squirr'l  dig  he  hole, 
an'  he  doan'd  leab  no  dirt  round  de  outsides?' 
Samlx)  gave  it  up,  and  Pomp  told  him  he  man- 
aged it  by  beginning  at  the  other  end.  '  How 's 
him  git  dar?'  Sambo  asked.  Pomp  shook  his 
head  solemnly,  and  answered  :  '  Bar's  de  mis- 
t'ry,  Sambo,  dar's  de  mist'ry.'  Here  are  flat 
stones  enough  to  build  Edward's  bridge,  but 
how  could  he  have  got  across  to  get  the 
stones?" 

The  boy  was  equal  to  this  emergency  for  he 
replied : 

"  I  took  you  along  to  do  that." 

This  greatly  amused  Mr.  Armour  who  told 
the  boys  that  he  thought  he  owed  them  a  treat, 
and  asked  them  which  they  would  have,  "berries 
or  water." 

"  Say  berries,  boys,"  Benjamin  eagerly  im- 
plored— which  they  did. 

"  I  guess  you  will  cry  louder  for  water  after 
you  get  the  berries,"  prophesied  Mr.  Armour, 
as  he  led  the  way  to  a  small  clearing  where 
the  wintergreen  was  plentiful,  the  red  berries 
peeping  from  under  the  waxy  green  leaves. 
"  Fall  to,  now,  and  help  yourselves  as  fast  as 
possible,  for,  like  an  extra  fast  express,  we  only 
stop  five  minutes  for  this  kind  of  refreshment." 

Then  began  a  hasty  scrambling  during  which 
the  purveyor  of  the  pleasure  gave  himself  up  to 


SPRING  BEAUTIES  IN  BLOOM.  113 

the  enjoyment  of  the  scene.  The  afternoon  air 
was  delightfully  warm.  The  west  wind  was 
slightly  swaying  the  tree-tops,  and  with  its 
gentle  breath  prevented  oppressive  heat.  The 
sun  was  thrusting  long,  slant  bars  of  light 
through  the  trees  that  already  were  beginning 
to  deck  themselves  with  tender  foliage.  There 
were  a  thousand  odors  blending  together  to  fill 
with  incense  the  "  templed  grove."  The  songs 
of  birds  were  not  wanting  to  add  melody  Lo 
beauty.  There  was  a  sound  of  life  all  around 
as  if  the  world  were  awaking  from  sleep  to 
general  activity.  The  listening  ear  caught  the 
faint  hum  and  drone  of  insects  amid  louder 
and  shriller  sounds.  From  a  tree-top  a  thrush 
sent  forth  a  song  of  praise,  singing  in  spring- 
time joy  as  only  a  thrush  can  sing.  But  the 
sun's  rays  were  far  too  level  for  extended  enjoy- 
ment of  what  grew  more  delightful  with  every 
moment.  The  warning  "Time's  up!"  called  the 
boys  to  resume  their  walk. 

"  They  are  awful  thick,  ain't  they?"  Edward 
affirmed,  and  asked  in  the  same  breath.  To  this 
Mr.  Armour  replied  : 

"  They  are  pretty  plenty  for  this  region." 

"Did  you  ever  see  them  thicker?"  inquired 
Benjamin. 

"  Yes,"  was  the  answer.  "  Several  times  I 
have  seen  them  in  great  abundance.  I  was 

10 


1 14  ROCKTON. 

taking  a  short  vacation,  some  years  ago,  in  the 
eastern  part  of  Maine.  The  youngest  son  of  the 
gentleman  with  whom  I  was  staying  found  out 
I  enjoyed  fishing,  and  proposed  to  take  me  back 
into  the  woods  a  dozen  or  fifteen  miles,  where, 
he  said,  I  could  catch  plenty  of  trout.  I  had  a 
magnificent  ride  over  a  grass-grown  country 
road,  and  found  the  stream,  but  I  did  n't  find 
any  trout.  Nothing  bit  but  the  flies.  I  whipped 
the  water  until  I  was  disgusted,  and  then 
reeled  up  my  line,  took  my  rod  apart,  and  said 
I  had  all  the  fishing  I  wished.  My  young  friend 
went  to  the  wagon  and  brought  out  some  boxes 
that  proved  to  be  packed  with  eatables.  We 
took  an  hour  for  that  dinner,  and  it  was  one  of 
the  very  best  I  ever  ate.  The  boxes,  that  were 
full  when  we  began,  were  nearly  empty,  while 
the  men  that  were  empty  when  we  began,  felt 
more  than  full  when  we  were  done.  Indeed, 
the  reason  we  were  done  was  because  we  were 
so  very  full.  Then  we  lolled  back  in  the  sun, 
and  I  took  a  short  nap.  When  I  woke  up  I 
thought  I  would  look  around  a  bit.  I  presume 
there  was  n't  a  house  within  half-a-dozen  miles 
at  the  least.  The  land  had  been  cleared — that 
is,  the  timber  had  been  cut  off.  There  was  a 
very  small  and  very  straggling  second  growth. 
Not  a  hundred  yards  from  where  we  ate  our 
dinner  I  found  a  strip  of  land  fairly  red  with 


SPRING  BEAUTIES  IN  BLOOM.  115 

wintergreen  berries.  Every  little  stalk  appeared 
to  be  heavy  with  them.  I  called  my  friend  to 
bring  the  boxes,  and  we  went  to  work  and  picked 
for  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  possibly  a  little  longer, 
until  it  occurred  to  rne  that  there  was  nothing 
they  could  be  used  for — " 

"  Couldn't  you  eat  them  ?"  interrupted  Ben- 
jamin. 

"O  yes,  and  I  could  eat  dry  peas,  and  for  a 
steady  diet  I  think  I  should  much  prefer  them 
to  the  berries.  I  asked  the  young  man  if  he 
knew  anything  that  could  be  done  with  them. 
He  said  they  might  be  fed  to  the  hens,  but  was 
suspicious  that  this  might  prove  fatal  to  them. 
But  I  told  him  it  would  never  do  to  spend  a 
day  fishing,  and  carry  nothing  home,  so  he  put 
the  boxes  in  the  wagon.  How  the  girls  laughed 
when  we  got  back — and  jolly,  healthy,  whole- 
some, sensible  girls  they  were  too — to  see  those 
red  berries!  They  said  they  believed  they  never 
had  seen  so  many  in  all  their  lives.  They  were 
not  little  red  bits,  about  the  size  of  bird-shot.  A 
large  part  of  them  were  as  big  as  medium-sized 
cranberries.  One  of  the  girls  got  a  half-peck 
measure,  and  emptied  our  boxes  into  it,  and  it  was 
heaping  full.  They  kept  them  for  a  day  or  two, 
and  showed  them  to  the  neighbors  when  they 
called;  but  what  they  did  with  them  after  that  I 
never  knew.  But  let 's  be  moving." 


1 1 6  ROCKTON. 

<(  I  hope  it  will  be  water,"  said  Benjamin ; 
"  I  'in  dry  as  a  fish." 

"  If  I  remember,  you  are  the  boy  who  voted 
unanimously  for  berries." 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  've  got  them,  too  ;  and  now  I  want 
to  give  them  a  soaking." 

He  was  promised  a  chance  to  test  his  power 
of  absorption,  when  he  should  have  gone  a  little 
further,  which  assurance  was  equally  grateful  to 
all  the  boys.  Edward  was  for  stripping  off  his 
jacket  he  was  so  warm.  Mr.  Armour  vetoed 
this,  .but  remarked  that  looser  garments  were 
preferable  in  vigorous  exercise  or  on  long 
tramps.  This  started  the  chubby  fellow  on  a 
new  line.  With  characteristic  energy  he  urged 
that  The  Jolly  Quintet,  having  a  peculiar  name, 
ought  by  all  means  to  provide  itself  with  a  suit- 
able dress  to  be  its  ornament  and  distinction, 
when,  as  he  said,  "  Instead  of  being  just  boys, 
we  are  a  Quintet."  This  rather  incoherent 
speech,  or  rather  the  dress  it  was  intended  to 
advocate,  received  the  hearty  approval  of  three 
of  the  boys,  Bernard  only  remaining  silent. 
Mr.  Armour,  with  one  of  his  queer  smiles,  no- 
ticed a  double  expression  on  his  face.  There 
certainly  was  a  look  of  approval ;  but  over  this 
was  spread  a  dubious  shadow  quite  droll  to  see. 

Bernard  Walters  was  a  manly  little  fellow, 
and  loved  his  mother,  and  this  all  the  more 


SPRING  BEAUTIES  IN  BLOOM.          117 

that  she  was  poor  and  worked  hard  to  care  for 
him  and  a  younger  sister.  Mrs.  Walters  was 
a  quiet,  sweet-faced  woman,  who  lived  in  a 
bit  of  a  cottage  in  Northville.  She  was  com- 
paratively a  new-comer.  Her  history  has  noth- 
ing romantic  or  strange  in  it.  An  elder  brother 
and  herself  had  been  left  orphans  when  quite 
young,  and  had  been  cared  for  by  a  maiden 
aunt.  Her  brother  chose  to  follow  the  sea,  and 
she,  when  her  aunt  died,  leaving  her  at  the  age 
of  twenty-three  years,  married  a  young  man  ot 
estimable  character,  an  orphan  like  herself,  but 
of  not  very  robust  health.  The  attachment  be- 
tween the  brother  and  sister  was  very  strong, 
and  he  insisted  that  the  newly  married  couple 
should  remove  to  the  vicinity  of  New  York  City, 
where  he  could  make  his  home  with  them  when 
on  shore.  He  claimed  that  this  was  their  duty, 
as  he  never  intended  to  marry.  He  did  more 
than  urge.  He  found  a  small  business,  just 
suited  to  his  brother-in-law's  taste  and  strength, 
and  bought  out  the  proprietor.  He  prepared  a 
snug  little  home,  and  then  extended  the  young 
people's  honeymoon  by  going  after  them,  and 
bringing  them,  bag  and  baggage  to  it.  Here 
they  lived  for  years.  Bernard,  named  for  his 
uncle,  was  born,  and  grew  to  be  a  lively  little 
fellow,  nearly  ten  years  of  age.  Carrie,  his 
blue-eyed  sister,  was  nearly  four  years  younger. 


Il8  ROCKTON. 

Captain  Cherington  having  assumed  com- 
mand of  a  very  large  ship,  planned  an  extended 
voyage.  Hardly  had  he  sailed  when  a  fire  broke 
out  in  a  neighbor's  house,  and  Mr.  Walters 
overtaxed  himself  in  helping  clear  it.  The 
sickness  which  followed  was  too  much  for  his 
frail  constitution,  and  in  two  months  he  was 
dead.  Mrs.  Walters  was  fever-stricken,  and  for 
weeks  was  very  ill.  When  she  could  leave  her 
bed,  she  found  her  affairs  were  not  very  pros- 
perous. Heavy  expenses  had  been  incurred,  the 
business  had  suffered  for  want  of  attention,  and 
the  lease  of  the  house  in  which  she  lived  was 
nearly  expired. 

During  all  this  time  she  heard  nothing  from 
her  brother.  At  length  she  was  forced  to  sell 
the  business,  and  when  she  had  paid  all  her 
debts,  she  found  that  she  had  comparatively  but  a 
small  amount  of  money  left.  She  waited  in 
vain  to  hear  from  Captain  Cherington.  At 
length,  as  she  came  fully  to  face  the  fact  that 
she  must  find  means  to  support  herself  and 
children,  she  determined  to  return  to  her  early 
home,  thinking  that  perhaps  she  might  find  it 
less  expensive  living,  and  could  more  readily 
obtain  work. 

A  lady  in  the  train  on  which  she  traveled 
had  a  sick  child.  She  insisted  on  caring  for  it, 
while  the  wearied  mother  rested.  The  result  of 


SPXING  BEAUTIES  IN  BLOOM.  119 

tins,  very  naturally,  was  womanly  exchange  of 
confidences.  Mrs.  Avery  fell  in  love  with  the 
sweet-faced  little  widow,  and  insisted  that  Rock- 
ton  would  be  just  the  place  for  her  to  find  a 
home.  Indeed,  she  confided  to  her  new  friend 
that  Mr.  Avery  had  a  small  cottage  that  would 
be  "just  the  thing,"  and  he — strange  inconsist- 
ency— thought  so  little  of  it  that  he  would  sell 
it,  she  was  sure,  at  a  very  low  price.  This  ex- 
plains why  Mrs.  Walters  was  living  in  a  very 
cozy  and  very  little  cottage  on  Linden  Street, 
in  the  eastern  part  of  the  Northville  portion  of 
Rockton. 

Somehow  she  had  even  more  than  enough 
money  to  buy  it,  and  could  put  in  the  bank  a 
few  hundred  in  case  a  "rainy  day"  should 
come;  although  it  must  be  evident  to  all  who 
have  read  this  short  history  that  she  had  already 
had  her  share  of  aqueous  weather. 

When  she  took  possession  of  her  new  home 
she  undertook  fine  sewing  as  a  means  of  sup- 
port, but  in  a  little  while  she  discovered  that 
there  was  more  money  and  less  "wear  and  tear" 
in  the  wash-tub.  She  was  a  sensible  woman. 
She  wanted  all  the  money  she  could  earn,  and 
she  wished  to  do  it  as  easily  as  possible.  Hence 
it  is  to  be  set  down  to  her  credit  that  she  be- 
came a  washerwoman  and  laundress.  Hence, 
also,  it  happened  that  while  Bernard  had  plenty 


120  ROCKTON. 

to  eat  and  serviceable  clothes,  he  had  to  work 
as  well  as  play,  and  had  but  little  money  for  fun. 

Perhaps  all  this  veritable  history  passed 
through  Mr.  Armour's  mind  as  he  listened  to 
the  chat  of  the  boys  and  watched  Bernard's  face 
as  he  trudged  silently  along;  then  again,  possi- 
bly not.  All  the  same,  he  was  a  large-hearted 
man.  Every  reader  must  have  long  ago  discov- 
ered this.  "Quick-witted,  too."  Yes,  more  than 
this,  he  was  sharp-witted.  His  answer  to  the 
urgent  questions  of  Edward  and  others  shows 
this.  He  said : 

"You  have  started  something  I  shall  want 
to  think  over.  You  know  the  old  man  who 
wanted  the  boy  to  cry  'Boo!'  to  the  colt  he  was 
breaking,  and  got  tumbled  off,  complained  that 
it  was  'too  big  a  boo  for  so  small  a  colt.'  We 
do  n't  want  them  making  fun  of  us.  I  '11  tell 
you  what  I  will  do.  Some  time  next  week  I 
shall  be  down  town.  I  '11  have  Bernard  meet 
me,  and  I  will  use  him  to  try  things  on.  If  I 
can  find  what  I  want,  I  '11  dress  him  up ;  and 
then,  if  you  all  like  the  style,  you  can  copy  it. 
If  I  do  n't  find  what  suits  me,  I  will  order  to 
my  notion,  and  of  a  size  that  will  fit  Bernard. 
I  wish  you  to  see  just  how  everything  looks  be- 
fore you  adopt  it.  Bernard  shall  be  my  lay 
figure;  and  I  '11  appoint  him  my  orderly,  to  carry 
my  hatchet,  or  anything  else  I  may  choose.  To 


SPRING  BEAUTIES  IN  BLOOM.  121 

pay  him  for  all  the  work  he  will  have  to 
do,  I  shall  let  him  keep  the  samples — that 
is,  if  you  go  in  for  them  when  you  see  them. 
If—" 

Seldom  is  a  subject  so  abruptly  dropped. 
Benjamin  let  out  a  blood-curdling  screech,  and 
sprang  ahead  as  if  shot  from  a  catapult.  Great 
was  the  merriment  when  the  frightened  boy  con- 
fessed that  he  thought  a  snake  was  after  him. 
Eager  to  hear  all  Mr.  Armour  said,  he  had  dis- 
turbed a  long  crooked  stick,  that  lay  under  the 
bushes  and  leaves  in  such  a  way  as  to  suggest 
to  his  ear  and  eye  a  big  snake.  Adolphus  told 
him  it  was  men  with  the  delirium  tremens  that 
were  in  the  habit  of  "  seeing  snakes."  What- 
ever more  of  fun  might  have  arisen  from  this 
little  scare  it  is  impossible  to  say,  for  at  that 
moment  the  busy  eyes  of  Mr.  Armour  made  a 
discovery  which  proved  a  diversion,  although  it 
was  somewhat  in  the  line  of  young  Grant's  re- 
mark. In  a  hollow  place,  under  a  decaying 
stump,  were  three  flat  pint-bottles  of  very  dark 
green  glass.  Bernard  suggested  that  they  should 
be  smashed.  Adolphus,  who  was  rather  bookish 
for  his  years — which  fact,  by  the  way,  was  far 
from  being  to  his  discredit — put  in  as  a  counter- 
suggestion  that  they  leave  them  for  the  discov- 
ery and  astonishment  of  later  generations,  who 
in  their  superior  knowledge,  might  imagine  that 


122  ROCKTON. 

they  had    found  relics   of  the  pre-Adamite    age. 
To  this  Mr.  Armour  responded: 

"  They  are  in  a  sense  this  now.  If  Adam 
and  Eve  were  tempted  by  Satan,  he  surely 
must  have  been  a  pre-Adamite  hater  of  our  race. 
The  wine-cup  is  rightly  called,  '  the  cup  of 
devils.'  Alcohol  is  the  most  fatal  agent  Satan 
employs.  In  this  sense  these  whisky-flasks  are 
relics  of  the  work  of  pre-Adamite  evil.  Think 
Of  human  beings  guzzling  such  stuff !  I  heard 
a  man  talking  to  some  boys  and  girls  at  a  tem- 
perance-meeting in  a  country  town.  He  said 
very  many  bright  things  I  have  forgotten,  but 
one  I  specially  remember  because  it  was  so  apt. 
He  stopped  short,  and  was  silent  for  a  moment, 
which  was  a  very  good  way  to  get  attention. 
Then  he  asked:  'Children,  do  you  know  how 
a  farmer  can  have  a  big,  fat  hog  ?'  Every  child 
pricked  up  his  ears,  and  every  farmer  in  the 
audience  besides.  'Who  will  tell  me?' was  his 
next  question.  The  big  boys  were  shy,  and  hung 
down  their  heads,  but  a  little  girl  squeaked  out 
1 1  know,  Mister.'  (  All  right,'  he  said,  '  you  tell 
us,  my  dear.'  '  Well,'  answered  the  feminine 
mite,  '  yo  dit  a  'ittle,  weeny  teenty  pid,  and  dust 
dive  it  all  it  will  eat,  and  it  will  drow  a  bid  hod 
its  own  self.'  How  the  hard-headed  farmers 
roared  and  stamped !  The  old  town  hall  fairly 
shook.  Everybody  saw  the  point.  There  is  to 


SPRING  BEAUTIES  IN  BLOOM.          123 

me  something  very  swinish  about  drunkenness. 
Some  vices  seem  to  require  brains  ;  none  are 
needed  for  the  development  of  the  drink  vice. 
If  you  wish  to  be  clean,  sensible,  true  men,  be 
teetotalers  all  your  days." 

"I  wonder  where  temperance  people  got 
that  word,"  said  Adolplms.  "  I  heard  somebody 
say  that  he  saw  in  a  paper  that  they  got  the 
word  because  some  people  would  n't  drink  any- 
thing stronger  than  tea — so  they  were  called 
tert-totalers.  Is  that  so  Mr.  Armour?" 

"No,"  was  the  reply;  "I  heard  Mr.  Gough 
say  that  it  originated  at  a  meeting  in  Preston, 
at  which  Mr.  Joseph  Livesey  presided.  A  man 
named  Dickey  Turner  said :  "  Mr.  Chairman,  I 
finds  as  how  the  lads  gets  drunk  on  ale  and 
cider,  and  we  can 't  keep  'em  sober  unless  we 
have  the  pledge  total ;  yes,  Mr.  Chairman, 
tee-tee-total.'  'Well  done,  Dickey,'  said  Mr. 
Livesey,  '  we  will  have  it  teetotal.'  This  must  be 
correct,  for  Webster  says  the  word  was  formed 
'by  reduplicating  for  the  sake  of  emphasis 
the  initial  letter  of  the  adjective  total?  .  But 
this  will  do  for  the  present — lectures  must  never 
be  too  long.  The  next  thing  in  order  will  be 
the  spring." 

By  this  time  The  Quintet  had  followed  its 
leader  up  a  gradual  ascent  to  the  top  of  a  high 
strip  of  land  which  lifted  itself,  bluff-like,  above 


124  ROCKTON. 

diverging  gorges  and  ravines  on  the  east.  After 
allowing  a  moment's  pause  to  admire  the  view, 
he  said : 

"There  was  a  spring  under  this  cliff  last 
year,  and  must  be  now,  unless  Dame  Nature, 
in  a  fit  of  spleen,  has  dried  it  up.  I  '11  explore 
a  bit  and  report." 

Descending  rapidly  by  points  of  the  ledge 
that  cropped  out  on  the  precipitous  face  of  the 
cliff,  he  was  not  long  in  gaining  a  level  plat  or 
shelf,  supporting  a  deeper  soil,  where  the  abun- 
dance and  greenness  of  the  grass  was  evi- 
dence of  a  corresponding  abundance  of  warmth 
and  moisture.  His  cheery  shout,  "Here  it  is!" 
was  precisely  what  might  be  expected  as  the 
result  of  his  search.  Directing  the  boys  to 
move  along  the  summit  a  little  way  towards 
the  southwest  where  the  descent  could  more 
easily  be  made,  he  watched  them  as  they 
scrambled — no,  this  is  a  mistake  ;  to  scramble  is 
to  go  up — he  watched  them  as  they  dangled, 
slipped,  slid,  dropped,  and  eased  themselves 
down.  This  omnifarious  feat  was  accomplished 
with  safety  by  all,  except  James  Mears.  He, 
with  characteristic  persistency  in  blundering, 
very  nearly  brought  himself  to  grief.  It  was  a 
close  shave  for  the  young  shaver.  When  the 
proper  path  for  descent  had  been  indicated,  this 
headlong  youngster,  with  his  usual  precipitancy. 


SPRING  BEAUTIES  IN  BLOOM.  125 

made  a  dive  for  the  face  of  the  little  precipice, 
with  a  reckless  boast  that  he  would  be  first 
down.  Immediately  there  was  some  loosened 
dirt,  and  stones,  and  more  boy — there  were  legs 
and  arms  enough  for  half  a  dozen  boys — in  a 
squalling  pigmy  avalanche  that  brought  up  in  a 
clump  of  bushes,  where  it  stuck  fast,  and  kicked, 
and  hung  suspended,  and  squealed.  The  slow- 
but-sure  way  was  altogether  the  quickest,  if  not 
the  shortest,  and  all  the  other  boys  were  down 
(safely  as  has  been  said)  before  down  fallen, 
crestfallen,  and  dirty  James  had  extricated 
himself  frcm  the  really  friendly  bushes  which 
had  received  his  downfalling  body  with  liter- 
ally outstretched  arms.  He  had  lost  his  cap 
his  jacket  was  half-way  over  his  head,  his  face 
wore  a  sorry,  disappointed  look,  and  he  was 
feeling  himself  over  as  if  counting  the  various 
parts  of  his  anatomy  to  discover  which  of  them 
might  be  missing  or  broken.  Bernard  picked 
up  his  cap  and  clapped  it  on  his  confused  little 
head  ;  Adolphus  pulled  down  his  jacket.  Ed- 
ward fell  to  dusting  him  off;  while  Benjamin 
sympathetically  tendered  him  the  solace  of 
the  remnant  of  a  cake  which  he,  in  a  fit  of  gen- 
erosity, had  borrowed  from  the  remnants  of 
Bernard's  luncheon. 

Mr.  Armour  was  laughing ;  if  it  was  wrong, 
the  fact  must  not  be  disguised.    It  was  something 


1 26  ROCKTON. 

of  a  dangerous  tumble ,  but,  then,  it  was  so 
comical!  And  poor  James  stood  with  such  a 
woe-begone  droop  in  his  body !  and  there  was 
such  a  look  on  his  face !  Half-mournful,  half- 
tickled,  half-hurt — how  many  halves  is  this  ? — 
half-vexed  and  half-ashamed,  while  over  all  was 
a  silly,  serious,  -apprehensive  and  imploring 
"  I  'm  a  little  donkey,  but  do  n't-tell-on-me- 
p-1-e-a-s-e "  expression  that  was  altogether 
"too  funny  for  anything."  If  it  was  wrong,  as 
a  matter  of  sentiment,  for  Mr.  Armour  to  laugh, 
as  a  matter  of  feeling  and  fact  he  could  n't  help 
it.  Why,  a  wooden  man  would  have  laughed 
could  he  have  seen  the  fun.  This  being  so,  our 
tall  friend  must  be  absolved.  At  any  rate  he 
laughed.  Then  he  sat  down  on  a  big  stone,  and 
laughed  some  more.  When  the  original  boy, 
who  had  been  lost  to  sight  in  the  heedless  ca- 
tastrophe, was  at  least  partially  restored,  he  said  : 

"  James,  you  make  me  think  of  a  man  who 
slipped  at  the  top  of  a  long  flight  of  hotel  stairs, 
and  bumped  all  the  way  to  the  bottom.  The 
clerk,  porter,  and  all  hands  started  to  help  him  ; 
but  he  looked  up  at  them  with  a  face  as  solemn 
as  a  grave-stone,  and  said  :  '  Did  n't  I  do  it 
slick  ?  That 's  the  way  I  always  come  down 
stairs.' " 

James  grinned — a  little  sheepishly,  it  must 
be  admitted — and  then  all  "  made  tracks  "  for 


SPRING  BEAUTIES  IN  BLOOM.          127 

the  spring,  which  was  in  a  little  basin  under  the 
shelter  of  a  slanting  rock.  By  this  time  Ben- 
jamin's berries  had  been  eaten  long  enough 
really  to  need  a  soaking.  When  all  were  sat- 
isfied, Mr.  Armour  led  them  around  under  the 
cliff  a  little  further,  and  pointed  down  into  a 
ravine  of  considerable  extent,  and  told  them 
that  the  water  from  the  spring  found  its  way 
into  it,  when,  with  water  added  from  other  springs, 
it  became  a  small  brook.  Into  this  ravine  he 
proposed  to  descend,  and  in  it,  to  spend  a  short 
time  before  returning  home.  Before  this  was 
done  he  said: 

"My  dear  young  friends,  hear  words  of  wis- 
dom. When  you  undertake  anything,  be  sure 
you  know  how  to  do  it.  Always  find  out  the 
best  way.  Now,  if  we  find  spring  flowers,  we 
must  get  them  home  fresh  and  bright.  Most 
people,  when  they  gather  them,  carry  them 
round  in  their  warm  hands  until  they  become 
wilted  and  faded."  Here,  he  took  from  his 
pocket  a  reel,  wound  with  small,  soft  twine, 
which  he  unwound,  cutting  it  in  lengths  of  two 
feet  or  more.  When  he  had  given  several  of  these 
to  each  boy,  he  further  explained:  "When  you 
have  gathered  a  fair  bunch  of  flowers  wind  a 
string  around  the  stems,  and  tie  it,  leaving  ends 
enough  to  hang  il  to  a  button  or  button-hole. 
In  this  way  you  will  keep  the  flowers  as  cool  as 


128  ROCKTON. 

possible,  carry  them  downwards  as  you  ought, 
and  at  the  same  time  have  your  hands  free  to 
pick  more.  This  will  also  keep  the  different 
kinds  separate  and  allow  them  to  be  arranged  at 
leisure."  To  illustrate  his  meaning  he  tied  to- 
gether a  bunch  of  common  saxifrage,  which  he 
had  gathered  while  the  boys  were  drinking  at 
the  spring,  and  making  a  loop  with  the  ends  of 
the  string  he  drew  it  tightly  over  a  button  of 
his  coat.  "  Now,  you  see,"  he  continued,  "  I  've 
a  nice  little  nosegay  made  of  about  the  sweetest 
of  our  early  spring  flowers,  that  'most  anybody's 
sister  would  be  pleased  to  wear  to  church  to- 
morrow." 

The  ravine  into  which  the  happy  boys  were 
led  was  not  amazing  and  overwhelming  in  its 
magnitude  like  the  great  gorges  of  the  West, 
but  was  a  quiet,  romantic  nook,  such  as  lovers  of 
the  beautiful  delight  in.  It  descended  gradually 
for  perhaps  a  third  of  a  mile,  narrow  all  the 
way,  yet  widening  a  little  as  it  opened  into  lower 
land  at  the  southeast.  A  very  little  brook 
tinkled  along  amid  the  stones  near  the  middle. 
On  either  side  of  this,  and  slightly  above  it,  the 
ground  was  comparatively  level,  which  was  in 
turn  bordered  by  the  sides  of  the  ravine  that 
rose  abruptly  like  walls.  The  latter  had  small 
trees  growing  in  their  fissures,  and  were  tapes- 
tried all  over  with  mosses  and  ferns.  High  over 


SPRING  BEAUTIES  IN  BLOOM.          129 

head  the  trees  were  bright  in  the  beams  of  the 
descending  sun,  while  a  faint,  golden,  mist-like 
splendor  was  shed  downwards  into  the  bosky 
depths. 

When  The  Quintet  with  rapid  steps  had 
covered  fully  half  of  the  length  of  the  ravine, 
Mr.  Armour  called  a  halt,  and  bade  the  boys 
look  along  the  ground  before  them.  It  was,  in 
spots,  fairly  blue  with  patches  of  the  loveliest 
and  most  modest  of  spring  flowers.  In  our 
rough  Eastern  climate,  none  blossom  earlier,  and 
none  repay  more  fully  with  their  beauty  those 
who  seek  them. 

"What  are  they?"  asked  Edward. 

"  Hepatica,"  replied  Mr.  Armour.  "  They 
are  wonderful  little  flowers,  in  my  eyes,  and 
are  of  many  shades,  as  you  will  see  when  you 
gather  them.  It  is  very  seldom  they  grow  so 
large  and  plentifully  as  they  do  here.  It  is  the 
best  spot  for  them  I  know.  Now,  let  every  boy 
get  a  big  bunch,  and  then  I  will  show  you  some- 
thing else." 

Following  his  own  orders,  he  busied  himself 
in  gathering,  here  and  there,  of  the  largest  and 
most  variously  tinted  blossoms  until  he  had  a 
cluster  suited  to  his  fancy,  which  he  hung  to  a 
button  after  the  manner  of  the  saxifrage.  When 
he  called  the  boys  together  he  sent  Adolphus 
across  the  brook  to  find  a  perfect  leaf  of  the 


130  ROCKTON. 

plant  on  that  side,  and  asked  Bernard  to  find 
one  on  the  side  where  they  had  gathered  their 
flowers.  When  they  returned,  each  with  a  leaf, 
Mr.  Armour  was  standing  with  his  back  towards 
them.  He  said : 

"  You  may  put  the  leaves  in  the  hands  of 
the  other  boys,  and  I  can  tell  which  side  each 
leaf  came  from." 

The  boys  had  their  heads  together  instantly, 
and  when  they  had  arranged  the  leaves  in  a  way 
they  thought  would  prevent  his  guessing  cor- 
rectly, told  him  they  were  "ready."  They  had 
laid  the  leaves  together  on  a  flat  stone.  Mr. 
Armour  picked-  one  up,  and  said  : 

"  This  grew  on  this  side,  and,"  picking  up 
the  other — "  this — youngster,  you  thought  you 
could  swindle  me — this  grew  on  this  side,  too." 
The  boys  stared  with  astonishment,  and  then 
laughed.  u  You  thought  you  would  catch  me. 
Now  I  '11  tell  you  what  to  do.  One  of  you  has 
the  leaf  from  the  other  side.  I  '11  turn  around — 
no,  I  '11  walk  away — and  you  may  get  a  dozen 
leaves  from  this  side,  mind,  and  put  the  other 
leaf  with  them,  and  I  will  pick  it  out  the  first 
time." 

He  walked  away  briskly  while  the  boys  ar- 
ranged for  the  trial.  When  he  came  back  there 
were  several  leaves  on  the  stone.  He  looked  at 
them,  put  his  finger  on  one,  and  said  :  "  That  is 


SPRING  BEAUTIES  IN  BLOOM.  131 

the  leaf  that  Adolphus  picked  on  the  other  side." 
The  boys  were  still  more  astonished.  Edward 
wanted  to  know  how  he  guessed.  "  I  did  n't 
guess,"  said  Mr  Armour;  "I  know  the  dif- 
ference. See,  here,'  and  he  held  two  leaves 
out.  "  Can't  you  see  these  leaves  are  not  alike  ?" 

Adolphus  looked  at  them  closely,  and  replied : 
"  This  one  is  sharper-pointed  than  the  other." 

"Exactly,"  said  Mr.  Armour.  "When  a 
leaf  grows  on  a  north  slope  of  a  ravine  or  hill, 
it  grows  pointed  like  this,  but  when  it  grows 
on  a  south  slope  like  the  one  over  there,  it 
grows  with  rounded  lobes  like  the  one  you 
brought.  So  you  can  tell  the  difference  now  as 
well  as  I  can." 

"Why  do  they  grow  so?"  inquired  Bernard. 

"That  reminds  me  of  something  bright," 
said  Mr.  Armour.  "  I  read  the  other  day  that  '  It 
is  the  Why's  boy  that  asks  the  questions.'  I  do  n't 
know  why  these  leaves  grow  so.  I  never  met 
any  one  who  could  tell  me.  But  come  along ; 
I  've  more  beauties  to  show  you." 

Crossing  the  tiny  brook  and  following  its 
course  for  a  few  moments  they  did,  indeed,  find 
more  beauties,  for  they  saw,  all  around,  the  lovely 
wax-white  blossoms  of  Bloodroot.  It  seemed 
true,  as  Benjamin  said,  that  there  was  "no  end 
to  'em."  These  flowers  were  unusually  large. 
More  string  was  soon  called  for,  and  "  I  've  got 


132  ROCKTON. 

enough,"  the  general  affirmation.  It  required 
but  a  short  time  to  ascend  the  ravine  on  the 
side  on  which  they  found  these  flowers.  When 
they  gained  the  top  of  its  wall,  the  spring 
w.here  they  drank  was  half  a  mile  on  the  left. 
They  were  making  a  straight  path  towards  the 
rustic  bridge,  and  Edward,  running  beside  Mr. 
Armour,  was  wishing  they  "  could  have  'nother 
adventure,"  when  a  strange  sound  a  little  off 
their  course  arrested  their  attention.  Edward 
did  n't  run  so  fast,  but  asked  :  "  Was  n't  it  a 
wild  bull?"  Benjamin  thought  it  "couldn't  be 
a  bear."  Mr.  Armour  said :  "  It  sounds  more 
like  crocodiles.  Do  n't  they  cry,  Edward  ?" 
This  young  gentleman  allowed  himself  ignorant 
of  most  of  the  habits  of  these  scaly  creatures. 
Then  Mr.  Armour  proposed  that  they  should 
investigate  a  little.  They  had  not  gone  far 
when  the  sound  became  much  louder.  It  was  a 
downright  roar.  There  was  also  a  rushing  and 
thrashing  in  the  bushes  as  though  something — 
yes,  two  somethings — were  coming.  Edward 
and  James  had  (<  changed  front  "  and  gone  "  to 
the  rear."  Bernard  had  picked  up  a  stick.  The 
roaring  increased  ;  the  thrashing  likewise  ;  the 
bushes  waved,  and — a  boy  and  a  girl — rather  a 
girl  and  boy,  for  she  was  much  the  taller, 
rushed  out.  Both  were  boo-hoo-ing  with  terrific 
energy.  The  girl,  as  soon  as  she  saw  Mr.  Ar- 


SPRING  BEAUTIES  IN  BLOOM.  133 

mour,  rushed  at  him  boo-hoo-ing  still  louder, 
and  begged  him  to  show  her  the  way  home. 
The  boy  stopped  his  bellowing,  and  looked 
sheepish.  Edward  said  he  had  seen  him  before, 
and  knew  that  he  was  a  Rockton  boy.  After 
awhile  the  whole  story  came  out.  The  boy 
was  some  eight  or  nine  years  old,  and  as  solidly 
built  as  young  Holt.  His  sister  was  about 
eleven  years  old,  and  as  Benjamin  said,  "as  slim 
as  a  slate-pencil."  For  her  age  she  was  extraor- 
dinarily tall.  They  had  started  out  for  a  walk 
in  the  woods,  got  turned  around,  and  so  had 
been  running  away  from  home  in  a  vain  attempt 
to  reach  it ;  and  had  bellowed  themselves  hoarse 
in  their  fright.  It  was  hard  work  to  get  them 
headed  right.  They  insisted  that  Rockton  was 
away  to  the  east,  but  at  length  concluded  to  fol- 
low The  Quintet.  The  boy  proved  to  be  a  ter- 
rific brag.  He  so  far  recovered  as  to  assert  that 
he  had  n't  been  scared,  and  had  n't  been  lost. 
"'Twas  only  Polly  making  the  touse."  He 
knew  the  way  home  "just  like  a  book." 
Adolphus  whispered  to  Bernard  that  probably 
this  was  so,  and  that  he  did  n't  believe  he  could 
read  anything  but  the  primer.  After  they  had 
crossed  the  alder  bridge  the  boy  declared  he 
knew  the  way,  and  when  they  reached  the  bars 
Mr.  Armour  told  him  as  he  knew  the  way  he 
had  better  start  along  ;  which  he  did,  turning 


134  ROCKTON. 

to  the  east,  the  girl  following.  When  The 
Quintet  and  its  leader  faced  to  the  west,  and 
were  under  way,  the  girl  turned  and  ran  after 
them.  As  she  overtook  them  she  asked  Mr. 
Armour: 

"Do  you  live  in  Rockton?" 

"  Yes,"  he  answered. 

"  Are  you  going  there  now  ?" 

"Yes." 

"  Then  I  'm  going  with  you.  That  fool 
does  n't  know  the  way." 

This  was  evident  enough.  After  a  bit  he 
came  scampering  behind.  For  a  wonder  he  held 
his  tongue  all  the  way  into  Northville,  where 
he  left,  following  his  sister,  who  from  thence 
knew  the  way  home. 

The  sun  had  gone  down  when  they  entered 
the  village.  Mr.  Armour  turned  up  Linden 
Street  with  Bernard ;  probably  to  smooth  the 
way  for  the  new  uniform. 

As  Edward    and    James,  having   said    good 
night    to  Adolphus  and   Benjamin,   had    nearly 
reached  the   foot  of  Ridge   Street,    Annis  Crab 
met  and  halted  them.     She   hoped  they  hadn't 
"  been  in  any  scrapes."     James    chuckled,    and 
said  :   "  We  've  been  in  lots  of  them."     The  care- 
less boy  evidently   thought  of  several  strips   of 
scraped  cuticle   he  at  that  moment  possessed. 
The    sharp,  green  eyes   of   Annis   made  an- 


SPRING  BEAUTIES  IN  BLOOM.          135 

other  discovery.  Each  boy  had  a  bunch  of 
flowers.  Just  before  they  entered  the  village  The 
Quintet  had  halted,  and  e,ach  member  had  put 
all  his  flowers  into  one  bunch,  and  carried  them 
in  his  hand.  The  remarkable  fact  that  Annis 
discovered  was,  that  Edward  had  two  bunches, 
and  one  was  very  fine,  indeed.  She  begged  for 
one,  but  the  boy  was  stubborn.  James's  eyes 
twinkled,  for  he  had  seen  those  flowers  before ; 
and  he  remembered  that  when  Mr.  Armour  left 
them  his  hands  were  empty.  The  next  morn- 
ing when  Annis,  who  was  late  in  church,  looked 
up  at  the  choir,  she  whispered  to  herself:  "Bless 
my  soul,  if  Sarah  Holt  is  n't  prinked  out  with 
spring  flowers.  Gracious  1  I've  seen  those  very 
flowers  before." 


ainui  jfi  tfi  vVV  yy*  <o<*J  -<  joe»  VV< 


CHAPTER  VII. 

A  VERY  RAINY  SPELL. 

WHEW  \  How  it  rained  !  Smiling  May 
forsooth  I  Instead  of  a  gay,  laugh- 
ing, winsome  maid,  this  was  a  doleful  dam- 
sel, dissolved  in  tears  of  the  wettest  kind 
of  weeping.  Did  it  rain?  Well,  occasion- 
ally,  but  the  most  of  the  time  for  days,  it 
was  too  busy  pouring  to  attend  to  such  trifling. 
"  Never  seed  such  a  fust  of  May  in  all  my 
born  days,"  growled  the  oldest  inhabitant  as  he 
mopped  the  donation  of  a  small  cataract  out  of 
the  back  of  his  neck.  Solomon  Whagg,  with  a 
pair  of  big  spectacles  on  his  nose,  and  a  lugu- 
brious pucker  on  his  face,  sat  day  by  day  in  his 
house,  without  the  faintest  attempt  at  a  joke. 
He  divided  his  time  between  his  paper  and  the 
weather,  peering  anxiously  over  his  glasses  now 
and  then,  to  see  if  there  were  any  signs  of  its 
breaking  away.  On  the  fifth  day  he  took  from 
its  nail  "  The  Old  Farmer's  Almanac,"  and  read 
the  astonishing  prognostication,  "  Look — out — 
136 


A  VERY  RAINY  SPELL.  137 

for — raiii — about — this — time,"  which  stretched 
from  the  first  to  about  the  middle  of  May, 
whereupon  the  aforesaid  pucker  condensed  into 
a  long,  pathetic  whistle,  which  at  the  end,  as  if 
rightly  to  balance  itself,  broadened  out  into  a 
testy  "  Pshaw !"  and  a  snort  of  disgust.  So 
unusual  a  display  of  temper  in  this  renowned 
humorist  spread  a  questioning  look  of  astonish- 
ment over  the  usually  placid  features  of  good- 
natured,  matter-of-fact  Mrs.  Whagg.  This  found 
its  answer  as  her  perturbed  husband  read  and 
commented:  '"Look  out' — yes,  look  out!  Did 
any  one  ever  see  nastier  weather? — 'for  rain.' 
Rain!  Mercy  sakes,  old  lady  ;  this  is  n't  a  rain, 
it's  a  deluge." 

Looking  from  School  Street  up  Linden  Street 
there  was  a  small,  blurred,  whitish  something 
which  showed  itself  faintly  through  the  falling 
torrents.  Inside  the  little  cottage,  fires  were 
burning,  and  all  the  available  space  was  hung 
with  newly-washed  clothes  in  what  Mrs.  Wal- 
ters called  a  "  dismal  attempt  to  make  fair 
weather ;"  but  this  remark  was  very  nearly  the 
only  dry  thing  in  the  room.  There  was  a  wist- 
ful expression  in  Bernard's  eyes  as  he  chucked 
a  fresh  supply  of  wood  into  the  stove  ;  but  it 
changed  to  a  gleam  of  humor  as  he  said : 
"  There  's  soft  water  enough  to  run  our  business 
for  a  year,  mother." 

12 


138  ROCKTON. 

There  were  no  eager  conferences  in  corners 
of  the  School  Street  play-grounds,  for  these  were 
nearly  in  condition  for  aquatic  sports  ;  and  the 
instant  school  was  dismissed  every  boy  scudded 
for  home  without  as  much  as  a  good-bye  to  his 
mates. 

Adolphus  bravely  busied  himself  with  his 
books,  but  poor  Benjamin  was  too  much  dispir- 
ited to  eat  his  usual  allowance. 

Granny  Norcross  fretted  and  fumed,  snuffed 
and  scolded,  until  she  made  the  atmosphere  so 
sultry  as  almost  to  drive  the  rest  of  the  family 
out  into  the  rain.  Annis  Crab  put  on  rubber 
boots  and  a  water-proof  gossamer,  and  started 
out  for  a  constitutional.  She  had  not  gone  far 
when  an  unpleasant  sense  of  coldness  and  wet- 
ness across  her  shoulders  set  her  to  berating 
Jabez  Long  for  selling  her  goods  that  were  not 
water-proof.  If  truth  must  be  told,  she  bought 
this  very  gossamer  for  a  birthday  present  for 
herself  when  she  was  seventeen  years  old,  and 
now  she  is — but  it  is  unfair  to  tell!  It  sur- 
prised her  deaf  old  mother  to  see  her  returned 
so  soon.  The  only  explanation  she  gave  was 
that  it  rained  "  too  hard  for  anybody  to  get  into 
any  sort  of  a  scrape." 

Jabez  Long  was  in  blissful  ignorance  of  the 
anathemas  irate  Annis  launched  at  him.  He 
thought  he  had  done  a  fair  stroke  of  business, 


A  VERY  RAINY  SPELL.  139 

for  he  had  loaned  a  half-dozen  umbrellas,  and 
put  a  little  drab  waterpoof  over  the  dripping 
form  of  seven-year-old  Mamie  Brown,  whose 
father  had  been  for  months  laid  np  by  a  bad 
fall,  and  told  her  never  to  let  him  see  her  out 
in  a  rainy  day  without  it.  In  the  absence  of 
any  other  customers,  he  perched  himself  on  his 
counter,  drummed  with  his  heels,  rubbed  his  fat 
hands  together,  chuckled,  whistled,  nodded, 
winked,  and  smiled  as  he  thought  of  good  things 
to  do,  when  it  should  clear  off.  Outside  the  store 
it  was  dark  almost  to  twilight  gloom,  but  inside 
there  was  plenty  of  sunshine.  At  any  rate,  Mr. 
Armour  who  came  in,  dripping  like  a  great  New- 
foundland dog  fresh  from  a  bath,  felt  a  sense  of 
June  warmth  and  brightness  as  soon  as  he  en- 
tered. It  would  have  been  rare  sport  to  be  behind 
the  piles  of  sheetings  and  calicoes,  and  seen  and 
heard  these  cronies  confabulating.  They  plotted 
plenty  of  mischief  that  Annis  never  could  find 
out,  and  nobody  ever  knew  except  those  who 
were  benefited  by  it. 

But  was  n't  Ridge  Street  catching  it !  It 
seemed  just  floating  away  by  itself — a  soaked, 
dreary  island  in  an  ocean  of  mist,  through  which 
the  town  below  could  but  vaguely  be  seen.  Sarah 
Holt,  as  she  looked  out  upon  it,  said  it  made  her 
think  of  Ararat,  where  Noah's  ark  found  the  top 
of  it  sticking  out  of  the  water. 


140  ROCKTON. 

James  Mears  was  so  utterly  disheartened 
that  he  absolutely  forgot  to  blunder,  and  sat  so 
still  that  baby  Harry  undertook  to  supply  this 
deficiency  by  climbing  into  his  lap  and  tumbling 
out.  This  feat  successfully  accomplished,  he 
sat  on  the  floor  and  added  a  succession  of  squalls 
to  the  tempest  without,  and  these  brought  Mrs. 
Mears  upon  the  scene,  and  unlucky  James  to 
additional  grief. 

Of  all  our  boys,  it  must  be  allowed,  Edward 
Holt  was  as  little  annoyed  as  any,  except  per- 
haps young  Grant.  Circumstances,  as  we  have 
seen,  had  tended  to  develop  the  selfish  side  of 
his  nature.  He  was  in  many  ways  bright  and 
sharp,  but  was  very  slow  with  his  books.  This 
was  due,  largely,  to  the  fact  that,  unlike  many 
other  children,  he  could  not  readily  commit  to 
memory  what  he  did  not  understand.  When  he 
saw  clearly  the  reason  for  a  thing  he  never  for- 
got. So  far  grammar  was  a  muddle,  and  he 
stuck  at  words.  All  this  gave  his  father  no 
concern.  He  said:  "Edward  is  bright  enough. 
By  and  by  he  will  see  into  things,  and  will  sur- 
prise us  with  his  progress." 

So  it  came  about  that  he  tried  his  boyish 
philosophy  on  the  gloomy  weather,  and  succeeded 
in  behaving  himself  much  better  than  many 
older  people  in  Rockton.  Possibly  Miss  Sarah — 
Mr.  Holt  sometimes  called  her  "Sunshine  " — 


'  A  VERY  RAINY  SPELL.  141 

helped  him.  The  dampness  had  kinked  her  fair 
hair  into  a  bewitching  mass  of  dainty  little  curls, 
and  she  went  around  the  house  singing  like  a 
bird.  She  bantered  Edward  about  projected 
tramps,  and  proposed  in  view  of  the  depressing 
effect  of  the  weather,  that  the  boys  call  them- 
selves "The  Grumpy  Quintet.''  It  was  in  no 
small  degree  amusing  to  watch  this  young  phi- 
losopher in  his  mental  struggles  to  solve  some 
knotty  question  Embargoed  by  the  storm, 
he  had  ample  time  for  such  intellectual  em- 
ployment. How  he  sat  and  pondered !  To 
help  himself  out,  he  crossed  his  legs,  and 
clasped  his  knee  with  his  hands.  Boys  imitate 
their  elders,  and  in  this  trick  he  was  uncon- 
sciously copying  his  father.  His  freckled  fore- 
head was  corrugated  in  puzzled  lines  ;  his  eyes 
half-shut;  his  lips  tightly  pursed — indeed,  the 
whole  boy  was  a  very  comical  example  of  pro- 
found mental  absorption. 

"Say,  Sarah,"  he  said,  after  a  long  spell  of 
cogitating  abstraction  "  What  is  unselfishness, 
any  way?" 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  all  have  learned  that 
this  young  woman  was  both  clear-headed  and 
quick-witted.  Hence  it  was  her  answer  to  Ed- 
ward's question  was  indirect, 

"What  do  you  think  it  is,  brother?" 

"  Dun  'no  's  I  know." 


142  ROCKTON. 

"Never   mind,  if  you    don't    know   all   you 
wish.     Just  tell  me  what  you  think." 

Edward  hugged  his  knee  a  little  closer,  nod- 
ded his  head  as  he  thought,  and  finally  replied : 

"  Ain't  it  for  a  feller  to  forget  to  think  about 
himself,  and  think  about  other  folks?" 

Many  sisters  who  think  they  have  plenty  of 
good  sense,  would  have  shown  their  want  of  it 
just  here  by  pulling  Edward  up  short,  and  lec- 
turing him  sharply  on  his  inexcusably  bad  gram- 
mar. Not  so,  Sarah  Holt.  She  had  been  well 
taught,  and  had  a  fine  sense  of  propriety  in  the 
use  of  words.  She  often  wondered  why  her 
brother  was  so  heedless.  She  was  very  careful, 
when  with  him,  to  speak  correctly,  hoping  that 
his  imitativeness  might  help  correct  his  glaring 
fault.  She  was  equal  to  occasional  lectures,  as 
will  be  seen,  but  she  was  also  wise  enough  to 
know  that  right  thoughts  and  right  moral  direc- 
tion are  of  first  importance.  Had  she  "  pitched 
into  "  Edward  about  his  string  of  grammatical  er- 
rors, he  might  have  been  cross,  he  would  not 
have  pondered  longer  on  the  vital  importance  of 
unselfishness,  and  one  great  lesson  of  life  might 
never  have  been  learned.  What  she  did,  was 
to  say :  "  I  think  you  have  got  it  about  right.  I 
suppose  you  meant  when  you  said  '  think  about 
other  folks,'  that  we  ought  to  care  for  other 
people?  " 


A  VERY  RAINY  SPELL.  143 

To  this  question  Edward  nodded  a  reflective 
assent. 

"  I  understand,"  she  continued,  "  that  un- 
selfishness is  what  you  say  it  is — forgetfulness 
of  self,  while  we  remember  all  the  more  to  care 
for  others.  Selfishness  is  mean  and  little.  It 
is  chicken-hearted,  for  it  is  always  afraid  it  will 
be  robbed.  It  is  afraid  it  will  lose  something  if 
others  get  good.  Unselfishness  is  large-hearted- 
ness  ;  a  grand  generosity  that  is  glad  when 
others  are  benfited." 

"  I  s'pose,  then,  a  feller  ought  to  be  glad 
when  other  fellers  have  a  good  time  if  he 
ain't  having  a  good  time  himself  ?"  said  the  boy. 

"Yes,  if  you  put  it  that  way.  An  unselfish 
boy  would  prefer  that  half  a  dozen  of  his  mates 
should  enjoy  themselves,  and  he  have  a  dull 
time,  rather  than  to  have  a  good  time  himself, 
and  all  the  rest  have  a  dull  time.  But  do  n't 
you  see  that  if  this  boy,  by  having  his  dull 
time,  could  help  all  the  others  have  a  good 
time,  his  dull  time  would  n't  be  a  dull  time  ? 
How  could  he  be  dull  or  unhappy  if  he  is  mak- 
ing six  other  boys  happy?  No,  he  ought  to  be 
the  cheerfullest  and  happiest  boy  of  all.  Do  n't 
you  see  it  ?" 

Edward  brightened  up  all  over.  He  un- 
clasped his  hands,  slapped  his  fat  little  thigh, 
curled  up  his  freckled  nose  in  a  gleeful  laugh, 


144  ROCKTON. 

and  said  :  "  I  just  see  it  now.  A  chap  has  n't  got 
to  be  mis'rable  to  make  others  happy  !  He  can 
be  jollier  than  anybody  in  making  others  jolly." 

"Too  many  people,"  said  Sarah,  "  make  the 
great  mistake  of  thinking  that  goodness  or  un- 
selfishness brings  unhappiness  because  of  the 
sacrifices  required.  Edward,  when  are  you  the 
happiest?  When  you  have  done  wrong  or 
right?" 

"  I  do  n't  think  a  feller  is  ever  very  happy 
when  he  has  done  wrong,"  replied  the  boy  very 
soberly. 

"  If  that  is  true,  why  is  it  that  a  boy  ever 
does  wrong?"  The  answer  to  this  question 
came  still  more  slowly.  Edward  not  only  puck- 
ered his  brows,  his  eyes  seemed  to  be  looking 
backward  as  if  searching  for  a  reason  in  his 
memory.  At  length  he  said  : 

"  I  guess  they  think  of  the  fun  at  the  time, 
and  forget  it  '11  hurt  afterwards." 

"  I  shall  have  to  call  you  my  philosophical 
brother  if  you  keep  on  thinking,  and  talking  so 
wisely,"  said  Sarah.  "  I  hope  you  will  always 
remember  that  the  only  real  fun  is  that  which 
can  be  enjoyed  twice.  I  mean  enjoyed  once, 
and  then  enjoyed  forever.  Do  you  understand  ?" 

Edward  nodded  a  thoughtful  assent,  and  his 
sister  patiently  waited  for  what  he  might  say. 

"  I  s'pose  real  fun  is  to  do  what  makes  a  fel- 


A  VERY  RAINY  SPELL.  145 

ler  feel  good  when  he  does  it,  and  then  makes 
him  allers  glad  he  did  it,"  was  the  way  he  put 
it;  and  Sarah  thought  this  so  nearly  right  that 
she  made  no  attempt  to  correct  it.  She,  however, 
was  hardly  prepared  for  the  question  which  fol- 
lowed: "If  a  feller  who  forgets  himself,  and 
tries  to  make  others  happy,  makes  himself  the 
happiest,  ain't  he  selfish  after  all  ?" 

Here  was  a  chance  for  this  young  woman 
with  the  chestnut  curls  to  end  the  conversation 
by  telling  the  questioner  that  he  was  getting  be- 
yond his  depth,  or  that  he  wras  misunderstand- 
ing things,  and  thus  put  him  so  far  back  in  his 
rainy-day  studies  in  moral  philosophy  as  to  dis- 
courage him  for  years  to  come.  How  many  sis- 
ters, under  like  circumstances,  would  have  pa- 
tiently picked  out  the  mental  tangle  ?  Sarah 
laughed,  a  rippling,  joyous  laugh  that  became 
her  well,  and  said  : 

"  I  am  very  glad  you  asked  this  question. 
I  will  try  to  think  correctly,  and  hope  you  will 
learn  to  do  so.  If  we  get  hold  of  this  matter 
right  it  will  appear  plain.  Every  one  ought  to 
desire  to  be  right,  and  have  '  the  good  feeling,'  as 
you  call  it,  of  being  right.  Suppose  you  should 
do  good  to  others  for  the  sole  reason  that  you 
wish  to  be  happy  yourself;  would  n't  it  be 
selfishness?" 

"  'Course  it  would,"  assented  Edward. 
13 


146  ROCKTON. 

"So  it  appears  to  me,"  continued  Sarah. 
"And  there  would  be  nothing  very  broad  or 
noble  in  the  motive.  You  would  not  be  doing 
good  to  others  because  it  would  make  them 
happy,  or  because  it  was  their  right.  The  same 
selfish  motive  which  would  lead  you  to  do  good  to 
others  because  it  would  make  you  happier,  would 
lead  you  to  do  wrong  to  them  if  that  would 
make  you  the  happiest." 

Like  a  wise  teacher,  she  here  stopped  and 
asked  Edward  himself  to  think  out  an  answer 
to  his  question.  His  eyes  had  snapped  and 
twinkled  while  she  had  talked  as  if  he  was 
"  seeing  into  things,"  and  his  answer  was  not 
long  delayed. 

"I  s'pose  a  chap  ought  ter  forget  himself, 
and  do  good  to  others  just  'cause  it  will  make 
them  happy." 

"Exactly,"  said  Sarah.  "He  is  to  do  this 
because  he  puts  their  happiness  before  his  own. 
He  may  wish  to  be  happy,  but  he  thinks  more 
of  others  than  he  does  of  himself,  and  is  bound 
to  make  them  happy  if  he  can.  If  he  succeeds, 
he  is  happy  because  they  are  happy.  Even  if 
he  fails,  though  this  is  not  very  likely,  he  is 
happy  because  he  has  honestly  tried  to  do  good. 
His  happiness  is  the  reward  of  his  unselfish- 
ness. In  the  other  case,  we  supposed  the  hap- 
piness would  be  the  reward  of  selfishness,  and 


A  VERY  RAINY  SPELL.  147 

of  another,  and  a  very  cheap  kind.  Do  you  see 
it  now?" 

"  'Guess  I  do,"  replied  Edward,  smiling  and 
stretching  his  fat  body  with  evident  satisfaction. 
After  a  moment,  however,  his  face  clouded  with 
another  troublesome  question,  on  seeing  which 
Sarah  asked:  "What  is  it  now,  niy  brother? 
Have  you  struck  another  snag  ?" 

"  Yes,"  said  he.  "  It  all  sounds  nice,  but 
how's  a  little  chap  like  me  to  be  doin'  good  and 
making  folks  happy  ?" 

"It  may  be  easier  for  me  to  tell  you  if  you 
will  first  tell  me  whom  you  would  like  to  make 
happy,"  replied  Sarah. 

"Well,  I  want  to  make  everybody  happy; 
but  I'd  like  ter  make  mother,  father  and  you 
happy,  any  way." 

"  Perhaps,"  said  Sarah,  "I  can  help  you  out 
by  telling  you  a  story."  It  may  not  before  have 
been  said  of  this  young  woman  that  she  had  the 
somewhat  rare  art  of  story-telling;  but  Edward, 
at  least,  was  well  aware  of  this  fact,  and  at  her 
suggestion  of  this  kind  of  a  treat,  was  instantly 
bristling  all  over  with  interest.  She  began — it 
must  be  confessed  in  a  somewhat  stereotyped 
way.  "  There  was  once  a  little  boy  ;  he  was  a 
fairly  good  boy,  as  boys  go.  He  had  a  nice 
father  and  mother,  and,  like  you,  had  also  a 
grown-up  sister." 


148  ROCK-TON. 

"  Where  did  he  live?"  interrupted  Edward. 

"  Pretty  well  up  in  the  world,  I  can  assure 
you,"  Sarah  replied,  good-naturedly ;  and  then 
she  proceeded  with  her  story.  "  Now  this  boy's 
father  and  mother,  to  say  nothing  of  his  sister, 
loved  him  very  much,  and  wished  very  much  to 
be  proud  of  all  he  did  and  said.  He  was  a 
good-hearted,  happy-natured  little  fellow ;  but 
was  inclined  to  be  selfish.  His  father  and 
mother  made  so  much  of  him,  he  took  their 
love  for  granted,  and  in  his  selfishness  thought 
he  need  not  make  much  effort  to  please  them. 
So  he  was  careless  about  the  house,  noisy  when 
he  ought  to  be  quiet,  and  had  a  bad  habit  of 
using  words  wrong,  and  using  wrong  words.  If 
he  had  been  careful  enough  to  please  them,  and 
unselfish  enough  to  break  his  bad  habits — " 

"Con — junctions!  that  ain't  a  story  at  all! 
You  mean  me,"  shouted  Edward ;  and  then 
subsided  with  a  crestfallen  look. 

"Do  you  object  to  my  story  because  it  isn't 
true  ?"  asked  Sarah. 

"  N-n-no !"  answered  Edward,  and  then 
bravely  and  honestly  added  :  "  'Cause  't  is." 

"And  can  not  my  brother,  who  is  really  a 
manly  little  fellow,  manage  it  so  I  can,  by  and  by, 
tell  a  different  story, and  have  it  equally  true?" 

It  was  a  prodigious  sigh  that  our  chubby 
little  hero  heaved  as  he  knitted  his  brows,  and 


A  VERY  RAINY  SPELL.  149 

screwed  up  his  lips  in  evident  determination  of 
purpose.     At  length,  he  said,  quite  softly  : 

"111  try."  And  then  with  the  peculiarly 
humorous  look,  seldom  long  absent  from  his 
face,  he  glanced  up  at  his  sister,  and  added  : 
"  You  '11  have  to  help  me  about  the  words, 
'cause  you  ought  ter  do  good." 

She  answered : 

"  Like  you,  I  '11  try.  Suppose  I  begin 
now  ?" 

"All  right.  Go  ahead!"  he  replied,  and 
heroically  straightened  himself  up  for  the  lesson. 

"Seeing  that  our  'conjunctions'  scheme  has 
worked  so  well,  I  think  the  same  plan  will  do 
for  further  use,  if  we  just  broaden  it  a  bit,"  said 
Sarah.  "  The  trouble  probably  lies  in  the  fact 
that  you  got  hold  of  some  words  wrong  by  the 
help  of  others ;  then  you  found  it  easier  to  clip 
a  class  of  words,  and  you  continue  to  use  all 
these  word  wrong  by  force  of  habit." 

"  'Zactly,"  ejaculated  Edward,  sententiously. 

"  Well,"  continued  Sarah,  "  the  best  way  I  can 
think  of  for  the  cure  for  a  bad  habit,  is  to  make 
the  right  way  still  more  of  a  habit.  You  will 
have  to  be  sharply  on  the  lookout  and  work 
hard.  How  often  do  you  say  'cause  for 
because?" 

"'Most  allers,"  replied  Edward. 

"  This  word  will  do   for  a  beginning,  and  a 


150  ROCKTON. 

good  illustration  of  our  plan  of  cure,"  said 
Sarah.  "  If  you  use  a  word  rightly  until  this 
becomes  more  of  a  habit  than  the  wrong  way, 
you  will  work  a  complete  cure.  Suppose  you 
take  this  word  because,  and  when  alone  repeat 
it  aloud,  hundreds  of  times,  being  careful  all  the 
while  to  put  a  slight  emphasis  on  the  first  syl- 
lable, like  this,  Realise.  It  will  not  require  long 
to  get  it  right.  When  you  think  of  the  word  the 
habit  will  not  be  to  think  'cause,  but  because. 
When  you  get  this  word  all  right,  then  take  an- 
other. You  answered  me  a  moment  ago  in  a 
short  sentence  of  two  words.  You  said  :  '  'Most 
allers.'  You  meant  '  almost  always.'  You 
will  learn,  in  time,  to  use  right  words,  as  well 
as  to  pronounce  them  properly.  If  you  had  an- 
swered my  question  by  saying :  '  Most  of  the 
time,'  then  most  would  have  been  correct. 
When  you  are  sure  of  'because,'  take  hold  of 
'  always '  until  you  always  pronounce  it  cor- 
rectly. If  you  will  try  this  plan  faithfully  with 
one  word  after  another,  it  will  not  be  long  be- 
fore you  will  surprise  and  please  us  all.  I  am 
sure  you  can  master  one  word  each  week." 

"I  can  fix  one  everyday,"  courageously  pro- 
tested Edward. 

"Then,"  said  Sarah,  "  I  am  confident  that  in 
six  months,  we  shall  have  with  us  a  young  gen- 
tleman whose  speech  will  be  a  model  of  propriety." 


A  VERY  RAINY  SPELL.  151 

Perhaps  some  may  think  the  foregoing  to  be 
altogether  too  long  a  conversation  for  even  a 
very  long,  rainy  spell.  It  must,  however,  be 
borne  in  mind  that  Rockton  was  called  to  en- 
dure an  exceptionally  extended  spell  of  falling 
weather,  and  in  it,  the  members  of  The  Jolly 
Quintet  must  talk  ;  for  indeed  they  could  do  little 
else.  The  Wednesday  after  the  "big  "Satur- 
day already  described,  was  too  damp  even  for 
Edward  to  sail  to  Africa;  and — alas  for  boyish 
hopes ! — the  following  Saturday  was  no  better. 
Tuesday  afternoon  had  come  around.  The 
floods  of  rain  had,  in  the  morning,  called  forth 
the  signal  for  one  session  of  the  public  schools. 
Edward  Holt,  as  we  have  seen,  passed  a  part  of 
the  afternoon  in  conversation  with  Sarah.  She 
might  have  gone  on  adding  precept  to  precept ; 
but  wise  girl  that  she  was,  she  preferred  to  let 
the  seed  she  had  sown  have  a  chance  to  grow, 
rather  than  dig  it  up  in  trying  to  plant  more. 

"What  are  you  going  to  do  to-morrow  after- 
noon?" she  asked  her  brother,  as  he  stood  look- 
ing disconsolately  out  of  an  east  window. 

"  'Dun-no'.  '  Guess  I  '11  go  up  in  the  attic, 
so  I  won't  be  drownded,"  he  replied. 

She  joined  him  at  the  window,  where  both 
looked  at  the  clouded  skies. 

"  Do  you  s-snfi-pose.  it  will  ever  clear  off?"  he 
dolefully  asked. 


"    For  answer  she  patted  his  head,  and  said : 

"This  would  be  the  only  storm  I  have  ever 
seen  that  did  not.  I  shall  always  think  this  one 
a  big  blessing.  I  would  n't  exchange  that  '  sup- 
pose' of  yours  for  a  week's  sunshine!" 

Edward  shook  his  head  dissentingly  at  this 
estimate,  and  said: 

"I  'd  sup-pose,  it  for  an  hour,  just  as  fast  as 
ever  I  could,  for  one  single  bit  of  sunshine.  O 
my!"  he  cried,  interrupting  himself,  and  quiver- 
ing all  over  with  excitement.  "I  guess  it's  go- 
in'  to  clear  off  after  all!  Just  look  there!" 

And  "look  there  "  Sarah  did.  If  her  brother's 
eyes  had  not  been  busy  with  what  he  saw  out- 
side, he  might  have  discovered  that  there  was 
something  in  her  eyes  that  said  something  about 
fair  weather — or  some  other  equally  pleasant 
matter.  Standing  on  the  top  of  the  ridge  was 
the  tall  form  of  Mr.  Armour,  and  he  was  look- 
ing around  as  calmly  as  if  there  never  had  been 
a  rain-storm  to  trouble  him. 

"  Splendid!  It  does  n't  rain  a  drop !"  Edward 
joyously  piped,  and  Sarah  encouraged  him  by 
saying: 

"I  believe  it  has  not  been  raining  for  more 
than  an  hour." 

"Hurrah!  there  goes  Jim  Mears!"  Edward 
shouted,  as  he  caught  sight  of  that  young 
worthy  running  across  the  field.  "Cricky !  what 


A  VERY  RAINY  SPELL.  153 

a  tumble!"  was  his  next  ejaculation,  as  the 
heedless  runner  caught  his  foot  in  a  bramble, 
and  turned  an  involuntary  summerset  into  some 
bushes  that  benevolently  held  out  their  slender 
arms  to  make  his  fall  harmless,  but  at  the  same 
moment  justly  punished  him  for  his  carelessness 
by  a  copious  shower-bath  from  their  dripping 
leaves.  Edward  did  not  wait  to  see  what  would 
follow  this  tumble,  but  started  for  his  hat  with  an 
alacrity  surprising  in  so  chubby  a  boy.  Before  he 
could  reach  the  outside  door,  Sarah  called  him 
back,  and  suggested  that,  as  the  long  storm  had 
probably  left  the  fields  and  woods  in  a  bad  con- 
dition for  an  excursion,  he  had  better  invite  The 
Quintet  to  visit  him  on  the  next  afternoon,  as  it 
would  be  a  half-holiday.  She  also  suggested 
further  that  it  might  be  very  pleasant  for  them 
to  play  together  in  the  big,  new  barn ;  that  they 
could  come,  even  if  it  proved  rainy;  and  that, 
to  make  it  perhaps  still  more  pleasant,  he  might 
ask  them  all  to  tea.  To  say  that  Edward's  eyes 
danced,  is  putting  it  quite  too  mildly.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  whole  boy  danced.  But  his 
hilarity  suddenly  subsided  into  a  sobriety  so  in- 
tensely comical  that  not  to  have  laughed  at  it 
would  have  been  very  unnatural  in  his  sister. 

"What  is  the  matter?"  she  asked.  "You 
look  as  though  I  had  proposed  the  extermination 
of  The  Quintet." 


154  ROCKTON. 

"I — I  think  it  will  be  selfish  in  me  to  let 
you  do  it.  It  will  make  lots  of  work  for  you  or 
mother." 

Sarah  nodded  at  him  gleefully,  and  said: 

"Never  you  fear,  my  brother!  It  is  unself- 
ish in  you  to  think  of  mother  and  me,  but  it 
will  not  require  much  extra  work.  Besides,  I 
shall  enjoy,  perhaps  as  much  as  you,  having  the 
boys  to  tea.  They  are  bright  and  well-behaved. 
I  like  to  have  you  with  them.  Invite  them,  to 
please  mother  and  me." 

Edward's  smile  came  out  again.  He  made 
a  rush  for  the  door,  and  grasped  the  knob ;  then 
turned  back  to  where  his  sister  stood,  and  with 
a  latent  roguishness  in  his  eyes,  gravely  asked: 

"Shall  I  invite  Mr.  Armour  too?" 

If  he  thought,  or  any  reader  could  suppose, 
that  this  wide-awake  young  woman  could  be 
troubled  by  such  a  question,  it  will  have  to  be 
set  down  as  a  mistake.  Sarah  took  Edward's 
hat  from  his  hands,  clapped  it  on  his  short- 
cropped  head,  led  him  to  the  door,  and  pushing 
him  gently  out,  said : 

"The  very  reason  why  I  told  you  to  invite 
the  boys  to-morrow  is  because  Mr.  Armour  is  al- 
ready engaged  to  be  here  to  tea." 

Edward  settled  his  hat  in  a  bewildered  way, 
blew  a  whistle  which  said  "  I  'm  beat  this  time, 
sure!"  and  then,  answering  back  a  welcoming 


A  VERY  RAINY  SPELL.  155 

shout  from  James,  scampered  away  towards  the 
top  of  the  ridge. 

"Why  didn't  you  come  ont  soon  as  you  saw 
Mr.  Armour?"  asked  James,  when  that  gentle- 
man had  shaken  hands  with  the  latest  arrival. 

"B-fe-cause  I  was  talking  with  Sarah,"  was 
the  reply. 

Mr.  Armour  smiled,  and  his  eyes  made  a 
note  which  connected  the  half-stutter  and  em- 
phasis of  the  beginning  of  this  answer  and  the 
name  of  the  sister.  He  said: 

"I  am  glad  of  another  improving  attack  of 
con-] unctions.  But" — and  he  pointed  to  the 
well-filled  pond — "I  judge  if  you  were  ship- 
wrecked on  a  voyage  to  Africa  to-day,  Edward, 
you  would  find  it  farther  to  land  than  you  did 
the  day  I  saw  you  wading  ashore." 

Of  course  Edward  and  James  talked;  indeed, 
talked  a  great  deal.  Their  tall  friend  talked 
some — enough,  at  least,  to  keep  their  tongues 
going — and  made  mental  notes  all  the  while. 

Edward  was  full  of  plans  for  a  "grand  time" 
the  next  afternoon,  and  James  volunteered  to  be 
his  messenger  to  the  three  absentees.  Both 
dubitated  about  the  weather,  but  Mr.  Armour 
sniffed  the  air  like  an  "old  salt,"  and  told  them 
the  storm  had  spent  its  strength,  and  he  saw 
signs  in  plenty  of  fair  weather.  On  this  as- 
surance, James,  with  a  commendable  faith,  pro- 


156  ROCKTON. 

posed  to  go  home  and  "ask  mother,"  and  run 
down  into  Northville  with  Mr.  Armour,  when 
he  returned  home,  and  "ask  the  rest  right 
away."  Mr.  Armour  commended  the  boy  for  his 
willingness  to  undertake  the  mission  and  his 
thoughtfulness  in  regard  to  his  mother's  permis- 
sion, but  said: 

"I  intend  to  call  on  Bernard  this  evening, 
to  see  if  the  new  uniform  fits  him.  If  it  does, 
we  will  have  it  on  exhibition  to-morrow  after- 
noon. As  I  go  around  to  his  mother's  house,  it 
will  not  be  many  steps  out  of  my  way  to  call 
on  the  other  boys.  Besides,  I  wish  to  see  their 
parents.  They  should  understand  all  about  our 
plans.  We  will  do  nothing  unless  they  heartily 
approve.  Perhaps  I  had  better  go  home  with 
James,  on  my  way  down,  and  see  his  mother." 

James  admitted  that  this  plan  was  the  best, 
and  owned  that  he  was  in  some  disgrace  at 
home.  He  gave  a  humorous  description  of  his 
stupid  despondency  on  account  of  the  weather, 
and  how  "the  little  kid"  had  climbed  into  his 
lap,  and  then  disastrously  tumbled  out.  "Gra- 
cious!" he  said;  "but  wasn't  there  trouble,  and 
right  away  too!  Mother  thinks  a  pile  of  that 
infant!  Lucky  his  head  hasn't  growed  hard! 
There  's  a  bunch  on  one  corner  as  big  as  a  small 
onion.  He 's  toddling  round  with  a  patch  of 
brown  paper  on  it  that  mother  makes  me  wet  in 


A  VERY  RAINY  SPELL.  157 

cold  water  every  now  and  then,  she  says,  to  re- 
mind me  of  my  carelessness;  and  the  youngster 
just  sets  up  and  howls  like  fury  every  time  I  do 
it.  I  believe  it 's  just  to  make  mother  think  I 
am  hurting  him,  and  get  her  to  make  me  howl 
too!  Before  I  let  him  fall  again,  I'll  tie  a 
pillow  on  his  head!" 

This  recital  amused  Mr.  Armour  and  Ed- 
ward, and  neither  neglected  the  opportunity  to 
poke  fun  at  James  for  his  habitual  heedlessness. 
The  former  said : 

"1  hope  this  new  bump  you  have  caused  to 
be  raised  on  your  little  brother's  head  may 
prove  a  big  bump  of  caution.  *But  there  is  your 
mother  at  the  door,  with  him  in  her  arms.  I 
will  go  over  and  make  friends  with  him,  and 
talk  with  her  as  I  do  it." 

So  saying,  and  bidding  Edward  good-bye 
until  the  morrow,  he  strode  away,  with  James  at 
his  heels;  and  in  a  moment  was  snapping  his 
fingers  at  the  youngest  Mears,  who,  with  a  base 
ingratitude  common  to  his  age,  stretched  out  his 
hands,  and  kicked  in  his  mother's  arms,  in 
frantic  efforts  to  get  to  this  new-comer,  who  im- 
mediately had  him  perched  on  his  shoulder, 
where  he  screamed  with  pride  at  his  elevation, 
and  pounded  on  Mr.  Armour's  hat  in  supreme 
content. 

The  conversation  which  accompanied  these 


158  ROCKTON. 

maneuvers  must  have  been  quite  satisfactory, 
for  Mrs.  Mears's  face  was  wreathed  in  smiles ; 
while  James,  equally  smiling,  was  by  her  side, 
holding  fast  to  one  of  her  hands.  When  she 
said,  "Nothing  could  be  nicer,  or  please  me 
more,"  James  gave  her  hand  a  grateful  squeeze, 
and  mentally  vowed  to  grow  a  big  bump  of  cau- 
tion on  his  own  head. 

Mr.  Armour  gave  back  to  his  mother's  arms 
the  youngster  with  the  brown-paper  plaster, 
who  yelled  a  terrific  remonstrance;  and  leaving 
her  still  smiling,  and  James  a  radiant  ditto,  and 
the  bumped  yearling  bumptiously  squalling,  he 
lifted  his  hat,  and  with  long,  swift  strides,  was 
soon  lost  to  sight  on  his  way  home. 


yq^rejCfyq^^ 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

MORE  SUNSHINE  AND  FUN. 


ARMOUR  proved  to  be  a  reliable 
weather  prophet.  During  Tuesday 
night  it  cleared  off — a  hopeful  sign  to 
weatherwise  people,  as  if  nature  thereby  in- 
tended to  atone  for  the  unusually  long 
I  storm  by  promising  a  compensatingly  long 
spell  of  pleasant  weather.  Rockton  came  out 
in  grateful  force  on  Wednesday  morning  to  en- 
joy the  sunshine  in  common  with  the  whole  de- 
lighted country.  Solomon  Whagg  was  out 
bright  and  early,  and  went  the  rounds  of  North- 
ville,  keeping  up,  all  the  bright  forenoon,  a  per- 
fect fusilade  of  small  jokes.  Granny  Norcross 
hobbled  around  her  immediate  neighborhood, 
and  told  everybody  she  could  reach  what  an  awful 
spell  of  "  n urology  "  the  "  terubble  wethur" 
had  caused  her  to  endure.  Even  Annis  Crab 
smiled  back  at  the  sun.  True,  it  was  a  little 
watery  after  so  much  rain;  still  it  was  undeni- 

159 


l6o  ROCKTON. 

ably  a  smile ;  and  when  she  stepped  into  Jabez 
Long's  store,  she  felt  so  good-natured  that  she 
entirely  forgot  to  berate  him,  as  she  had  prom- 
ised herself  she  would,  for  selling  her  a  water- 
proof that  would  wear  out,  but  instead  actually 
bought  herself  a  couple  of  cotton  handkerchiefs 
out  of  a  "job  lot"  that  the  enterprising  propri- 
etor was  advertising  as  a  great  bargain  at  five 
cents  each. 

Jabez  Long,  everybody  said,  was  always  all 
sunshine;  but  this  morning  he  "just  beamed." 
So  at  least  Edward  Holt  and  James  Hears  said 
to  each  other,  after  they  had  chatted  a  few  mo- 
ments writh  him,  as  he  stood  in  the  doorway  of 
what  he  sometimes  was  pleased  to  call  his 
"Great  Dry  Goods  Emporium."  He  threat- 
ened to  leave  this  "Emporium"  to  take  care  of 
itself,  and  run  up  on  Ridge  Street  in  the  after- 
noon and  spoil  their  sport.  They  laughingly 
challenged  him  to  make  his  threat  a  promise. 
Edward  advised  him-  to  get  Annis  Crab — who, 
showing  not  the  slightest  symptom  of  haste, 
was  lingering  on  the  sidewalk,  listening  to  the 
merry  talk  and  admiring  her  purchase — to  tend 
the  store  for  him;  and  she  actually  seemed 
pleased  at  this  suggestion.  Mr.  Long  proposed 
for  an  improvement  on  Edward's  plan,  that  he 
had  better  take  Annis  along  with  him  to  visit 
the  boys;  whereat  she  bridled  up,  and  said  she 


MORE  SUNSHINE  AND  FUN.  161 

was  mortally  afraid  so  giddy  a  chap  as  he  would 
get  her  "into  some  scrape;"  and  then  she  walked 
away,  chuckling  at  her  own  wit,  and  happier 
than  she  had  been  for  a  week. 

When  she  was  well  out  of  ear-shot,  Mr.  Long 
asked  the  boys  what  sort  of  a  time  they  were 
going  to  have  in  the  afternoon,  and  winked  and 
wheezed  and  laughed  in  such  a  funny  way  that 
Edward  told  James,  in  an  aside,  that  he  be- 
lieved the  jolly  storekeeper  knew  more  about 
things  than  he  would  tell.  This  was  true ;  and 
if  the  sharp  little  fellow  had  but  stopped  to 
think  of  what  happened  the  evening  before,  he 
might  have  found  ample  reasons  to  strengthen 
his  surmise. 

The  story  of  Tuesday  evening  has  not  yet 
been  told.  This  is  a  good  place  for  it.  It  has 
previously  been  said  that  Mr.  Holt's  house 
could  be  found  at  the  west  end  of  Ridge  Street. 
In  fact  it  is  the  last  house  on  the  street.  Not 
that  the  street  really  ends;  but  just  after  it 
passes  this  house  it  becomes  two  divergent 
streets,  like  an  immense  Y,  which  run  their 
well  laid-out  way  down  to  the  foot  of  the  ridge, 
and  end  in  another  street,  which  connects 
Northville  with  the  west  end  of  the  principal 
part  of  the  town.  Just  where  Ridge  Street 
branches  out  in  the  manner  above  indicated,  it 
is  crossed  at  right-angles  by  another  street, 


1 62  ROCKTON. 

which  comes  up  the  gradual  ascent  of  the  south 
side  of  the  ridge,  and,  after  passing  Ridge  Street, 
drops  directly  down  the  abrupter  north  slope 
into  the  western  edge  of  Northville.  When 
these  streets  were  first  staked  out,  Mr.  Holt 
purchased  the  corner  lot,  on  which  he  afterward 
built  his  house,  facing,  as  he  wished  it,  to  the 
south.  He  was  quite  correct  when  he  told  his 
wife  he  had  "done  a  good  bit  of  business."  Not 
only  did  he  buy  this  lot,  but  a  number  of  lots 
all  around  it,  and  thus  made  himself  fairly  sure 
of  the  quality  of  his  neighbors. 

When  he  felt  he  could  afford  it,  he  biiilt  the 
house  of  this  story,  to  please,  as  he  always  said, 
his  wife.  It  is  not  Queen  Anne,  Elizabethan, 
or  Dutch  in  style.  Its  builder  did  not  attempt 
anything  old-fashioned,  or  any  startling  new- 
fashioned  monstrosity,  but  put  up  a  substantial 
house  of  a  style  that  just  suits  its  inhabitants, 
and,  as  a  matter  of  course,  about  every  one  else 
who  sees  it.  When  this  house  was  completed 
to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  Mrs.  Holt,  and  paid 
for  to  the  still  greater  satisfaction  of  all  con- 
cerned, Mr.  Holt  said  he  thought  the  time  had 
come  to  build  something  to  please  himself. 
When  asked,  "What?"  he  replied:  "I  have 
plenty  of  land  and  I  am  going  to  build  a  barn." 
Some  of  his  friends  suggested  "a  stable;"  but 
he  told  them  that  his  early  days  were  spent  on 


MORE  SUNSHINE  AND  FUN.  163 

a  farm,  and  that  the  barn  was  the  delight  of  his 
boyhood,  and,  if  he  knew  himself,  he  would 
build  a  big  barn.  And  a  "  big  barn "  it  is ! 
How  "big"  it  is  useless  to  try  to  tell.  Mrs. 
Holt  once  laughingly  said:  "If  our  family  ever 
gets  too  large  for  the  house,  I  can  get  my  hus- 
band to  finish  off  the  barn,  and  move  into  it 
and  keep  boarders."  Well,  this  barn  was  well 
built,  and  the  ridge  dwellers  are  not  a  little 
proud  of  its  generous  proportions  and  neat 
cupola.  One  of  them  jocosely  said  to  Mr.  Holt: 
"When  the  ridge  is  all  built  over,  you  can  put 
in  a  few  more  windows  and  finish  it  of?"  inside 
for  a  meeting-house."  He  good-naturedly  re- 
torted: "I  will  do  so  just  as  soon  as  my  neigh- 
bors are  pious  enough  to  require  it." 

This  big  barn  has  something  to  do  with  this 
story.  Soon  after  Edward  returned  from  his 
meeting  with  Mr.  Armour  and  James  Mears,  on 
Tuesday  afternoon,  Mr.  Holt  came  home.  Ed- 
ward thought  he  was  unusually  early;  but  of 
course  this  was  none  of  his  business.  Then, 
too,  supper  was  remarkably  early;  but  this  also 
was  none  of  his  business.  Then  Sarah  had  an 
errand  for  him  at  Mr.  Long's  store.  He  won- 
dered she  had  not  sent  by  him  when  he  went  to 
school,  and  wondered  she  was  in  such  a  hurry- 
she  could  n't  wait  till  he  went  down  in  the 
morning.  Still,  this  was  none  of  his  business. 


1 64  ROCKTON. 

Besides,  he  was  not  averse  to  a  run  down  into 
Northville,  hoping  that  perhaps  he  might  come 
across  some  of  The  Jolly  Quintet,  and  so  bear  to 
them  his  own  invitation  for  the  morrow.  Then, 
again,  he  wondered  that  Sarah,  instead  of  trust- 
ing to  his  memory,  and  so  help  him  to  a  habit 
of  remembering,  as  she  was  accustomed  to  do, 
should  send  a  note;  but  he  concluded  that  this, 
like  all  other  unusual  things  he  had  noticed,  was 
none  of  his  business.  When  he  went  out  of  the 
side  door  to  carry  the  note,  he  noticed  two  of  his 
father's  best  workmen  were  in  front  of  the  barn, 
and  this  puzzled  him  still  more ;  but  as  they 
said  nothing,  he  wisely  held  his  own  tongue  and 
went  his  way,  full  of  joyous  anticipations  of 
the  good  time  he  would  have  in  playing  host  to 
his  mates.  He  was  half  inclined  to  turn  back 
and  ask  his  father  to  put  up  a  swing  in  the 
barn,  but  concluded  the  request  would  do  as 
well  when  he  returned.  He  was  still  more  puz- 
zled when  he  entered  Mr.  Long's  store  and  de- 
livered Sarah's  note ;  for  as  soon  as  he  opened 
it  that  droll  worthy  seemed  inclined  to  burst  out 
laughing,  but  he  puckered  his  face  in  a  queer 
way,  nodded  to  himself,  winked  mysteriously  at 
Edward,  and  then  bustled  away  as  if  in  search 
of  something  of  very  great  importance.  After 
awhile  he  came  back  with  a  small  parcel,  which 
he  asked  Edward  to  be  kind  enough  to  take 


MORE  SUNSHINE  AND  FUN.  165 

around  to  a  house  on  Cross  Street,  and  deliver 
to  the  woman  who  lived  in  it,  while  he  was  fill- 
ing Sarah's  order.  This  was  another  surprise 
for  the  little  fellow;  but  he  trudged  happily 
away,  for  it  was  a  pleasure  to  oblige  Mr.  Long. 
When  he  was  gone,  Mr.  Long  put  on  his  spec- 
tacles and  read  Sarah's  note  again.  This  was 
how  it  ran: 

"  MR.  JABEZ  LONG:  My  Dear  Friend, — Please 
send  by  Edward  two  spools  of  No.  60  cotton,  to 
match  the  inclosed  sample.  I  also  wish  you  to 
detain  him  in  some  way,  as  you  doubtless  can. 
We  would  like  an  hour,  or  more  if  possible,  in 
which  to  prepare  a  surprise  for  him,  and  do  not 
wish  him  to  have  even  a  hint  of  it  until  to- 
morrow afternoon. 

"  Respectfully  yours, 

"SARAH  A.  HOLT." 

"Smart  girl,  that  Sarah  Holt,"  chuckled  Mr. 
Long;  and  then  he  busied  himself  with  cutting 
off  half  a  dozen  samples  of  goods,  each  of  which 
he  carefully  tagged  and  marked  with  its  price, 
and  put  the  whole  in  an  envelope,  \vhich  he  di-. 
rected  to  Mrs.  K.  M.  Harding,  No.  14  Cedar 
Street.  This  done,  he  stood  and  looked  at  the 
envelope  in  a  knowing  way,  with  his  head  on 
one  side.  "There,"  he  said  to  himself  in  a 
complacent  tone,  "this  will  keep  our  chubby 


1 66  ROCKTON. 

little  gentleman  busy  for  twenty  or  thirty  min- 
utes more."  When  Edward  came  back,  he  said: 
"Young  man,  if  I  shut  up  this  Great  Dry  Goods 
Emporium  to-morrow  afternoon,  or  trust  it  to 
other  people,  so  I  can  climb  up  to  your  jam- 
boree, I  've  got  to  have  all  my  errands  done.  I 
promised  Mrs.  Harding  some  samples  of  goods 
to-morrow.  If  you  want  me  on  Ridge  Street,  I 
want  you  to  show  it  by  carrying  them  over  to- 
night. But  do  n't  hurry !  I  '11  send  word  to 
Sarah  that  I  kept  you  running  errands  for  me, 
and  make  it  all  right." 

Edward  started  on  this  second  errand,  whis- 
tling, and  wondering,  as  he  went,  at  this  strange 
freak  in  Mr.  Long,  but  unsuspicious  of  any  con- 
spiracy with  regard  to  himself. 

Meanwhile  there  was  some  remarkably  quick 
work  being  done  on  Ridge  Street.  Hardly  was 
his  son  out  of  sight  when  Mr.  Holt  was  with 
the  men  Edward  had  noticed,  and  they  had  been 
re-enforced  by  another.  The  four  went  to  work 
in  the  barn  with  a  will.  There  was  a  conspiracy, 
and  it  was  no  new  thing.  For  days  old  Charley 
had  hauled  occasional  loads  of  sawdust.  Edward 
had  noticed  this,  and  when  he  asked  his  father 
what  he  could  do  with  so  much  of  the  stuff,  was 
told  in  a  vague  way  that  there  were  uses  in 
plenty  for  it,  and  was  directed  to  spread  some  of 
it  on  the  floor  of  the  box-stall  where  old  Charley 


MORE  SUNSHINE  AND  FUN.  167 

found  comfortable  quarters  when  not  at  work.  Be- 
sides the  sawdust  several  small  loads  of  manufac- 
tured lumber  had  been  left  around  the  barn-floor, 
and  there  was  more  on  the  big  wagon  outside. 
Whatever  plan  was  in  Mr.  Holt's  mind,  his  men 
evidently  knew  something  about  it.  He  stripped 
off  his  coat,  opened  a  box  of  tools,  gave  a  few 
plain  directions,  and  all  "fell  to"  as  if  a  very 
big  job  must  be  done  in  a  very  short  time.  There 
was  the  rapid  sound  of  saws,  hammers,  and  of 
general  activity  which  quickly  brought  Mrs. 
Holt  and  Sarah  upon  the  scene.  They  expressed 
not  the  slightest  surprise  ;  hence  it  is  but  just  to 
infer  that  they  knew  what  was  going  on.  If  any- 
thing further  could  be  gathered  from  their  gen- 
eral appearance,  they  were  not  only  greatly 
interested  in  the  proceedings,  they  also  very 
much  approved  of  them. 

u  It  is  fortunate  we  got  all  these  contriv- 
ances made  beforehand,  so  we  have  nothing  to 
do  but  put  them  together,"  remarked  Mr.  Holt 
as  he  drove  a  stout  wooden  pin  to  hold  a  tenon 
securely  in  place.  To  this,  one  of  the  men  re- 
plied : 

"  It 's  lucky  you  decided  beforehand  just 
where  to  put  them,  so  we  've  nothing  to  do 
but  whack  them  together  and  fasten  them  in 
place." 

Mrs.  Holt  watched   the  men   as  they  sprang 


1 68  ROCKTON. 

cheerfully  around  at  their  work,  but  she  still 
more  carefully  watched  through  a  window  to 
see  if  any  one  might  be  coming  along  Ridge 
Street.  Sarah  saw  she  felt  a  bit  anxious,  and 
quietly  said  : 

"You  need  not  fear,  mother!  I  think  my 
note  to  Mr.  Long  has  made  sure  there  will  be 
ample  time." 

And  ample  time  there  was  for  whatever  was 
being  done.  Before  the  spools  of  number  sixty 
cotton  were  found,  and  declared  to  be  a  good 
match  for  the  sample,  and  Edward,  with  a  reply 
to  Sarah's  note  in  Mr.  Long's  oddly  sprawling 
handwriting,  was  on  his  upward  way  home,  Mr. 
Holt  said  : 

"  Everything  is  all  right.  You  have  done  a 
good  job,  boys.  It  has  taken  us  just  an  hour 
and  ten  minutes.  You  will  each  find  you  are 
credited  with  two  hours'  overwork.  Now,  we  will 
lock  up,  and  keep  dark !" 

When  Edward  entered  the  house  and  deliv- 
ered Mr.  Long's  note,  and  the  ridiculously  small 
bundle  that  came  with  it,  he  found  his  father 
in  dressing-gown  and  slippers,  and  busy  with 
his  paper  as  if  nothing  whatever  had  happened. 
His  mother  was  as  placid  of  countenance  as  she 
usually  appeared.  She  soberly  inquired  : 

"  Have  n't  you  been  quite  a  long  time  on  your 
errand,  my  son?" 


MORE  SUNSHINE  AND  FUN.  169 

Edward  did  not  see  the  broad  smile  on  the 
face  of  his  father,  or  the  comical  glance  he  shot 
at  Sarah  from  behind  his  paper.  This  young 
woman's  responsive  laugh  she  managed  to  turn 
to  good  account  by  answering  for  her  brother: 

"  Mr.  Long  must  be  having  a  small  rush  of 
business.  His  note  says  he  took  the  liberty  to 
detain  Edward  long  enough  to  send  him  on  a 
couple  of  errands." 

Mr.  Holt  here  saw  a  chance  to  indulge  his 
desire  to  laugh  without  suspicion,  and  as  he 
shook  all  over,  asked : 

"  Are  n't  you  going  into  the  dry  goods  busi- 
ness rather  early  in  life,  Edward  ?" 

The  boy  here  thought  he  saw  his  oppor- 
tunity to  ask  the  favor  he  had  had  in  mind  all 
the  time  he  was  trudging  down  into  Northville 
and  back. 

"  Mother  and  Sarah  are  going  to  get  supper 
for  our  Quintet,  and  let  me  invite  the  boys  to 
spend  the  afternoon  here  to-morrow.  Won't 
you,  please  father,  put  up  a  big  swing  in  the 
barn?" 

For  a  moment  Mr.  Holt  made  no  reply,  but 
seemed  to  be  turning  this  request,  or  something, 
over  in  his  mind.  At  length  he  said  : 

"  Edward,  I  will  make  a  bargain  with  you. 
If  you  will  agree — let  me  see  if  it  will  do — 
h'm — yes — I  think  it  will — if  you  will  agree 


1 70  ROCKTON. 

that  you  won't  go  to  the  barn  until  the  boys  all 
get  here  to-morrow  afternoon,  I  will  agree  on 
my  part  that  there  shall  be  a  big  swing  put  up 
in  good  shape  by  the  time  they  are  ready  to  use 
it.  What  do  you  say  ?  Shall  it  be  a  bargain?" 

Edward's  eyes  grew  large.  Had  James 
Hears  been  around,  he  would  have  said  "they 
stuck  out  "  "  Stay  away  from  the  barn?"  What 
could  this  mean?  But  his  father's  word  was 
"  as  good  as  a  bond,"  and  .he  wished  for  the 
swing  very  much.  So  with  good  sense,  he  very 
emphatically  and  joyously  replied: 

"Yes,  sir,  I'll  agree  to  it." 

Mr.  Holt  turned  again  to  his  paper,  re- 
marking : 

"  I  am  sure  you  will  keep  your  part  of  the 
contract,  and  I  feel  equally  sure  the  swing  will 
be  there." 

What  was  there  in  this  remark  to  set  Sarah 
off  in  tuneful  peals  of  laughter?  And  why 
should  his  mother  drop  her  work  and  join  in  it? 
All  the  bewildered  boy  could  do  was  to  add  his 
cackle  to  the  puzzling  mirth,  and  content  him- 
self with  the  promise  of  his  father.  When  the 
evening  prayer  had  been  offered,  he  went  hap- 
pily to  bed  to  dream  of  the  coining  afternoon 
with  the  boys,  and  the  swing.  It  would  have 
been  surprising,  if,  when  he  awoke  on  Wednes- 
day morning,  and  found  everything  so  bright 


MORE  SUNSHINE  AND  FUN.  171 

and  beautiful,  he  had  not  thought  of  the  bargain 
he  had  made  with  his  father,  and  wondered  not 
a  little  whether  the  swing  was  already  up,  or 
just  when  or  how  it  would  be  done.  But  he  got 
no  further  in  his  conjectures,  and  wisely  decided, 
as  he  could  fully  trust  his  father's  word,  to  wait 
until  the  terms  of  the  contract  would  allow  him 
to  see  it  as  it  then  would  surely  be.  Perhaps 
this  conclusion  made  him  so  unsuspicious  of  the 
winking  and  joking  of  Mr.  JabezLong.  To  be  sure 
he  looked  wistfully  at  the  barn  when  he  came 
home  from  school ;  but  the  big  doors  opened  on 
the  other  street,  and  the  honest  little  fellow 
would  n't  walk  around  on  that  street  even  for  a 
sly  peep.  At  dinner  he  longed  to  ask  his  father; 
but  it  occurred  to  him  that  it  might  appear  that 
he  was  afraid  his  father  had  forgotten  his  part 
of  the  bargain.  No !  he  would  wait  a  little 
longer. 

Dinner  over,  he  was  out  at  the  old  trysting 
place  on  the  top  of  the  ridge  to  meet  his  mates 
whom  he  had  repeatedly  instructed  to  "be  sure 
and  come  early."  With  a  "  whoop  la!"  and  a 
ringing  "  hurrah !"  James  Mears  was  almost 
immediately  running  across  the  lots  to  join  him, 
and  for  a  marvel  did  not  tumble  either  up  or 
down. 

"O  my!  isn't  it  just  glorious?"  he  asserted 
and  interrogated  in  another  shout  as  he  reached 


172  .         ROCKTON. 

the  top  of  the  ridge,  panting  for  breath  from  his 
headlong  race  against  time,  and  with  his  eager 
face  shining  in  the  sunlight. 

"  Splendacious!"  was  Edward's  reply;  and 
then,  as  if  he  was  not  quite  sure  this  was  right, 
he  correctively  added,  "Splendiferous!" 

After  such  a  pyrotechnical  display  of  un- 
Websterian  adjectives  there  was  not  much  more 
to  say  of  the  weather,  and  little  else  to  do  but 
wait  and  conjecture  how  long  they  must  wait 
for  the  others.  They  could  see  by  the  clock  on 
Northville  church  that  it  was  a  few  moments 
before  one  o'clock.  After  sage  deliberation,  they 
jointly  concluded  that  it  was  not  probable  that 
all  would  be  through  dinner  as  early  as  them- 
selves, and  that,  allowing  for  possible  delays,  they 
ought  not  to  expect  any  re-enforcements  before 
half-past  one.  So  with  commendable  patience 
they  sat  down  to  tell  stories  and  while  away  the 
time  while  they  waited.  Edward  was  almost 
biirsting  with  a  great  desire  to  tell  about  the  big 
swing  in  the  big  barn ;  but  with  great  self-control 
he  determined  to  leave  it  for  a  surprise  for  James 
as  well  as  the  rest ;  and  a  surprise  it  was ! 

When  the  hands  on  the  church-clock  told 
their  sharp  eyes  that  it  was  eighteen  minutes 
past  one,  James  began  to  rehearse  a  story  he 
had  but  recently  read,  but  it  was  never  finished. 
His  narrative  had  run  but  a  moment  or  two 


MORE  SUNSHINE  AND  FUN.  173 

when  it  was  cut  short  by  a  faint  "halloa!"  in 
the  distance  ;  and  Edward,  without  the  slightest 
regard  for  the  feelings  of  the  narrator,  jumped 
to  his  feet,  began  an  exaggerated  Indian  dance, 
and  shouted,  "  There  they  come,"  following  this 
with  a  series  of  frantic  "  hurrahs !"  that  might 
have  brought  out  the  Northville  Fire  Brigade  if 
the  wind  had  been  in  the  south.  James  was 
equally  vociferous,  and  continued  so  until  the 
three  from  the  village  who  had  started  together 
from  Mr.  Long's  store,  had  made  their  way 
through  the  birch  growth,  and  scaled  the  ledge. 
Mutual,  and  hearty  congratulations  were  first  in 
order,  but  Edward  cut  them  short  in  his  impa- 
tience to  lead  the  column  in  an  advance  on  the 
big  barn.  As  there  could  not  be  the  slightest 
objection  on  the  part  of  any  to  this  movement 
they  were  instantly  on  the  way. 

As  they  entered  the  yard,  Miss  Sarah  ap- 
peared at  the  front  door,  and  invited  them  to 
come  into  the  house  and  rest.  Edward  stoutly 
expressed  his  choice  for  the  barn,  and  his  mates 
politely  chorused  their  concurrence.  So,  leaving 
the  young  woman  laughing  merrily  in  the  porch, 
they  trooped  away  at  the  heels  of  the  excited  Ed- 
ward, whose  sturdy  legs  soon  carried  him  through 
the  big  barn-doors,  which  were  invitingly  wide 
open,  as  if  expecting  him  and  the  jolly  com- 
panions who  rushed  in  after  him. 


174  ROCKTON. 

"Whew!" 

"O  my!" 

"  Hurrah  !" 

"  This  beats  all  !" 

"Capital!  isn't  it?" 

Thus  five  breathless  boys  all  at  once.  Sur- 
prise was  in  each  varied  tone;  blank  surprise 
on  each  boyish  face.  But  Edward's  face  showed 
the  blankest  surprise  of  all!  Adolphus  Grant, 
though  himself  much  surprised,  could  not  help 
noticing  it,  and  asked  : 

"What's  the  matter  with  you,  old  man? 
You  look  as  if  you  are  what  Granny  Norcross 
calls  '  dumb-foundered !'" 

"  What 's  hit  you  now  ?"  asked  Benjamin 
Strong. 

But  not  a  word  answered  Edward.  With 
wide-open  mouth  and  staring  eyes,  he  stood — and 
stared  !  Was  there  a  swing?  Certainty  there  was, 
and  a  marvel  of  a  swing,  too.  It  was  no  common 
thing  made  of  ropes.  It  was  hung  from  big 
staples  in  the  beams  '  'way  up '  overhead.  Ed- 
ward had  noticed  these  staples  for  more  than  a 
week,  and  had  wondered  what  they  could  have 
been  put  there  for.  And  the  swing  itself! 
Why,  it  was  as  Adolphus  critically  and  approv- 
ingly affirmed,  "  a  wonderful  back-acting  con- 
trivance." It  was  strong  enough  for  all  the 
boys  to  pile  in  at  once,  and  so  constructed  that 


MORE  SUNSHINE  AND  FUN.  175 

they  could  bring  into  action  a  leverage  with 
their  feet,  and  thus  make  it,  as  they  all  said, 
"Go  of  itself,  without  anyone  to  push."  Be- 
sides, it  was  so  hung  that  it  could  swing  out  of 
the  big  doors,  and  thus  leave  the  larger  part  of 
the  barn  floor  clear,  even  when  it  was  in  motion. 
But  this  swing  was  only  a  small  part  of  the 
great  surprise. 

"My!  what  are  all  these  contraptions?" 
asked  James,  as  he  rushed  farther  into  the  in- 
terior of  the  barn  with  the  rest  following  him. 

What  were  they,  indeed  ?  And  what  was  the 
matter  with  poor  Edward?  He  was  still  more 
"  dumb-foundered."  Adolphus,  who  had  read 
some  in  "Arabian  Nights,"  asked  him  if 
Aladdin  had  been  there  with  his  wonderful  lamp  ; 
but  our  chubby  hero  only  shook  his  head  in  mute 
amazement.  What  magic  had  been  at  work? 
There  was  a  smooth,  horizontal  bar  in  two  stout 
upright  posts.  There  was  a  pair  of  horizontal 
bars.  Across  the  barn,  and  not  too  high  up, 
was  a  row  of  swinging  bars.  There  was  also 
a — well,  call  it  a  gymnastic  ladder,  with  smooth 
rungs,  just  big  enough  to  grasp  properly,  and  so 
arranged  that  a  boy  could  go  up  obliquely  with 
his  hands  for  about  eight  feet,  cross  over  hori- 
zontally, ten  feet  more,  and  come  down  another 
oblique.  Nor  was  this  quite  all.  Some  well- 
smoothed  planks  had  been  placed  on  edge,  and 


176  ROCKTON. 

securely  fastened  around  all  the  space  occupied 
by  these  various  "  contraptions,"  and  a  wise 
precautionary  use  had  been  found  for  the  be- 
fore-mentioned sawdust.  It  had  been  spread 
evenly  over  all  the  space  inside  the  planks,  thus 
making  a  soft  cushion  about  eight  inches  thick 
to  receive  harmless  any  boy  who  should  hap- 
pen to  fall. 

James  could  not  contain  himself.  He 
jumped  for  the  horizontal  bar,  and -swung  him- 
self upon  it.  With  his  usual  skill  in  blunder- 
ing, he  not  only  swung  himself  on  it,  but  over 
it,  and  came  down  flat  on  his  back  on  the  saw- 
dust beneath,  thus  at  the  outset  proving  the 
wisdom  of  its  provision.  He  laughed.  He  could 
afford  to,  for  he  was  not  one  bit  hurt.  All  the 
rest  laughed.  Miss  Sarah,  who  was  coming  in 
at  the  moment,  and  witnessed  this  first  "flop," 
laughed  too.  All  laughed  !  No,  not  quite  all. 
Edward  was  sober.  "  Sober  as  an  owl,"  Ber- 
nard said.  The  little  fellow  still  winked,  and 
stared,  and  his  chubby  chin  quivered.  His 
sister  saw  he  was  completely  overcome,  and 
came  promptly  to  his  help. 

"  Well,  Edward,  do  n't  you  think  we  have 
done  a  good  thing?"  she  asked.  Without  wait- 
ing for  an  answer,  she  went  on  :  "  We  did  have 
to  work  shrewdly  and  sharply  to  keep  you 
from  knowing  of  it.  We  had  things  all  planned 


MORE  SUNSHINE  AND  FUN.  177 

for  some  time.  Father  made  the  various  parts 
as  he  found  opportunity.  Everything  was  ready 
last  week  except  the  bringing  home  and  putting 
up.  Then  we  thought  of  an  afternoon  for  the 
boys.  Last  night,  when  I  sent  you  down  to  Mr. 
Long's,  I  asked  him,  in  my  note,  to  keep  you 
awhile,  and  father  and  his  men  made  quick  work 
of  putting  things  together.  But  did  n't  I  laugh 
last  night  when  you  made  that  bargain?" 

While  she  was  talking,  Edward's  face  became 
rosy.  As  he  saw  how  this  pleasant  and  gainful 
joke  had  ^been  played,  his  sense  of  humor  as- 
serted itself,  and  he  began  to  laugh  with  his 
mates,  who  were  crowding  around  him.  Could 
there  have  been  a  happier  boy  ?  What  a  loving 
mother  and  father!  And  what  a  splendid  sister! 
There  were  big,  honest  tears  of  gratitude  and  af- 
fection in  his  eyes  as  he  laughed.  His  mother 
came  into  the  barn  to  see  the  fun,  and  he  ran 
to  her  and  kissed  her  while  the  residue  of  The 
Jolly  Quintet,  in  the  uncontrollable  exuberance 
of  their  sympathetic  joy,  gave  three  rousing 
cheers. 

When  all  had  admired  to  their  heart's  con- 
tent, and  Mrs.  Holt  and  Sarah  had  left  them  to 
themselves,  the  boys  stripped  off  their  jackets, 
and  set  themselves  to  testing  each  gymnastic 
"contraption"  until  they  were  tired. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

MORE  FUN  AND  SOME  HORSE-SENSE. 

"HEN  the  members  of  The  Quintet 
had  reached  the  unanimous  conclu- 
sion that  they  had  quite  enough  gymnas- 
tics, they  amused  themselves  with  games 
requiring  less  exhaustive  efforts.  Thus  en- 
^"  feaged>  the  moments  flew  by  until  Adolphus 
Grant,  who  had  attained  to  the  manly  dignity 
of  a  real  watch — which,  by  the  way,  he  assured 
his  mates  was  no  "Waterbury" — declared  it  was 
ten  minutes  past  four  o'clock.  On  this  an- 
nouncement all  piled  into  the  wide-seated  s,wing, 
and  set  themselves,  as  Bernard  said,  "a-wag- 
ging"  to  cool  off,  and  deliberate  as  to  what  next 
to  do.  As  they  swung  to  and  fro,  now  in  and 
now  out,  there  came  the  whirring  sound  of 
swiftly-rolling  wheels  and  the  accompanying 
hoof-beats  of  a  horse,  and  Mr.  Armour  drove 
around  the  corner  from  Ridge  Street  in  a  light 
"Democrat"  wagon,  with  none  other  than  jolly 
178 


MORE  FUN  AND  SOME  HORSE-SENSE.    179 

Jabez  Long  beside  him.  In  a  twinkling,  five 
boys  were  out  of  the  swing,  and  this  time  five 
boys  were  vociferously  cheering. 

Mr.  Long  protested  that  they  would  scare 
him  and  the  horse ;  but  that  animal  minded  the 
noise  less  than  the  flies  that  had  begun  to  buzz 
about  him,  and  only  looked  around  at  Mr.  Ar- 
mour as  if  to  ask  him  what  all  the  rumpus  was 
nbout.  That  gentleman  sprang  from  the  wagon, 
and,  after  helping  Mr.  Long  down,  proceeded  to 
tie  the  horse.  Of  course  all  the  boys  gathered 
around. 

"  I  think  he  is  a  very  nice-looking  horse," 
said  Adolphus,  critically.  He  was  given  to  no- 
ticing horses,  probably  from  the  fact  that  his 
father  was  doing  a  large  amount  of  expressing 
and  teaming,  and  had  a  stable  full  of  them. 

"Yes,  he  is  quite  a  good  one,"  replied  Mr. 
Armour,  as  he  stroked  his  velvety  nose. 

They  all  began  to  admire  him  except  Mr. 
Long,  who  declared : 

"The  gray  rascal  ran  away  with  us  up  Ridge 
Street." 

"Whose  horse  is  he,  Mr.  Armour?"  asked 
Benjamin.  "I  never  saw  him  before." 

"No;  he  is  afresh  importation.  I  bought 
him  awhile  ago,  and  have  had  him  kept  on  the 
home  farm,  that  my  oldest  brother  might  handle 
him  and  get  him  in  shape  to  drive." 


T8o  ROCKTON. 

"Can  he  go?"  asked  Bernard. 

"Go?"  put  in  Mr.  Long.  "He  goes  too 
much!  Didn't  I  tell  you  he  ran  away  with  us? 
I  'im  going  to  walk  home  and  save  my  precious 
neck." 

"He  can  go  a  little,  I  admit,"  said  Mr.  Ar- 
mour; "but  he  is  as  'kind  as  a  kitten,'  and  I 
would  trust  Miss  Holt  to  drive  him." 

Doubtless  he  mentioned  the  name  of  this 
young  woman  for  the  reason  that  at  that  mo- 
ment she  was  coming  towards  the  barn.  As 
she  came  up,  the  horse,  as  if  pleased  with  the 
compliment  paid  him,  reached  out  his  nose  until 
it  touched  her  sleeve,  sniffed,  and  then  gently 
whinnied.  Nodding  pleasantly  to  Mr.  Long, 
she  asked  Mr.  Armour: 

"Is  this  the  gray  you  told  me  about?" 

An  instantaneous  photograph  would  have  re- 
vealed a  queerly  knowing  expression  in  Mr. 
Long's  eyes  as  he  heard  this  question.  Mr. 
Armour  did  not  notice  it.  He  was  looking  at 
Miss  Sarah,  and  informing  her  that  this  was  the 
identical  gray  horse. 

"Pray,  what  is  his  name?"  she  inquired. 

"Josephus,"  he  replied.  "For  short,  I  call 
him  Joe  He  answers  very  well  to  either 
name." 

It  may  here  be  said  that  Josephus  was  a 
rather  remarkable  animal.  He  was  tall  and 


MORE  FUN  AND  SOME  HORSE-SENSE.    181 

stongly  made,  and,  though  somewhat  high  in 
bone,  was  not  gaunt.  His  clean  head  was  well 
fitted  to  a  long,  thin,  curving  neck,  and  he  car- 
ried it  so  high  that  a  check  was  a  superfluity. 
His  deep-chested  and  well-made  body  was  set 
on  good,  strong,  clean  legs,  which  were  gathered 
well  together  under  him  as  he  stood  to  be  ad- 
mired. His  color  was  dapple-gray,  and  he  had 
a  dark  mane  and  tail. 

Mr.  Armour  told  his  story  while  the  little 
group  looked  him  over.  He  said. 

"The  first  time  I  saw  him  he  was  in  a  dump- 
cart.  He  was  long-haired,  and  very  poor  for 
lack  of  keeping,  and  was  covered  with  wales 
from  unmerciful  whippings.  His  more  brutish 
owner  said  he  was  a  contrary  brute  and  no  good. 
He  also  said  he  was  so  ugly  in  the  stable  that 
he  would  like  to  sell  him  if  he  could  find  a  man 
fool  enough  to  give  anything  for  him.  I  had 
no  desire  to  distinguish  myself  as  a  fool,  but  I 
had  been  thinking  of  buying  a  horse.  I  saw 
that  this  one  was  quite  young;  and  though  he 
had  a  bad  leg,  caused  by  a  kick  from  another 
horse,  and  had  suffered  from  cruel  treatment 
and  neglect,  he  was  still  as  sound  as  a  dollar. 
I  knew  by  his  head  that  he  had  brains,  and 
naturally  was  of  a  good  disposition.  I  was  con- 
fident that  if  he  showed  any  ugliness  it  was  due 
entirely  to  ill-usage.  I  was  satisfied,  from  his 


1 82  ROCKTON. 

appearance,  that  he  had  'the  go'  in  him,  and 
that  decent  treatment  would  make  him  all  right. 
He  was  a  hard-looking  specimen  though,  and 
most  people  would  have  said  he  was  not  worth 
twenty-five  dollars.  The  man  asked  forty  dol- 
lars. He  said  he  could  pull  like  the  mischief 
when  he  had  a  mind  to.  This  he  admitted  was 
not  often.  I  offered  thirty  dollars  for  what  was 
left  of  him.  At  length  he  split  the  difference, 
and  I  paid  thirty-five  dollars,  and  had  him  led 
out  to  the  farm  and  put  him  in  charge  of  my 
brother  for  treatment,  who  laughed  at  my  trade 
but  confirmed  my  judgment.  You  can  all  see 
what  has  come  of  my  venture.  I  wished  for  a 
first-class  roadster,  and  here  he  is.  Twelve 
miles  an  hour  over  our  hilly  roads  is  play  for 
him,  and  he  never  seems  in  the  least  tired.  He 
never  sees  a  hill  unless  I  insist  upon  it,  and  he 
can  walk  my  legs  off  in  less  than  an  hour ;  for 
he  is  altogether  the  fastest  walker  I  have  seen. 
I  will  show  you  something  how  knowing  he  is." 

Here  he  unhitched  him  and  started  him  off 
at  a  word.  When  he  had  gone  nearly  to  the 
corner  of  the  street,  it  needed  but  another  word, 
and  he  stopped  short.  He  then  as  readily  obeyed 
the  signal  to  back  around,  and  returned  to  his 
master  and  stood  looking  at  him  as  if  he  were 
asking,  "What  next?" 

After  a  few  more  displays  of  his  docility  and 


MORE  FUN  AND  SOME  HORSE-SENSE.    183 

intelligence,  Mr. -Armour  called  him  up  to  the 
post  and  tied  him,  saying: 

"Brother  William  never  tied  him.  He  says 
he  will  stand  all  day,  and  hungry,  too,  without 
it ;  but  I  never  leave  any  horse  without  this 
precaution." 

He  then  took  a  "grip"  from  the  wagon,  and 
said  to  Miss  Sarah: 

"  I  have  a  bit  of  business  to  attend  to.  Won't 
you  allow  me,  please,  to  take  Master  Bernard 
into  a  room  and  get  him  into  his  uniform?" 

To  the  request  Sarah  readily  assented,  and 
led  the  way  into  the  house. 

It  was  not  a  very  long  time  for  the  other 
boys  to  wait,  eager  as  they  were,  before  Mr. 
Armour  came  back,  followed  by  Bernard,  evi- 
dently not  a  little  vain  of  his  new  rig.  It  was 
a  dark-blue  suit  throughout — blue  stockings, 
knee-breeches,  a  shirt  with  a  sailor's  collar;  and 
a  soft  felt  hat  to  match.  Around  his  slim  waist 
was  a  broad,  buff-colored  leather  belt.  The  rest 
of  the  boys  at  once  gathered,  admiring,  around 
the  proud  little  fellow,  and  good-naturedly  ban- 
tered him  on  his  appearance.  Mr.  Armour  ex- 
plained that  he  had  found  it  about  the  most  dif- 
ficult task  he  had  ever  undertaken  to  select  a 
uniform,  and  that  he  had  been  able  to  think  of 
nothing  more  appropriate.  He  told  the  boys  he 
had  first  thought  of  something  in  the  style  of  a 


1 84  ROCKTON. 

fatigue-cap  for  the  head-gear,  but,  on  the  whole, 
he  had  concluded  that  hats  would  be  preferable 
for  the  service  to  which  they  were  to  be  put. 
When  the  boys  had  all  chorused  repeatedly  their 
entire  satisfaction,  he  said : 

"I  have  seen  the  parents  of  all,  and  they 
have  entirely  and  heartily  approved.  By  their 
direction,  I  am  to  take  the  rest  of  you  down  to 
Mr.  Hunt,  the  clothing  dealer  at  the  Center,  and 
he  will  measure  you  and  have  the  suits  ready 
for  you  next  Saturday,  at  noon.  It  will  not 
take  many  minutes  to  attend  to  this  part  of  the 
business  with  Josephus  to  help  us;  so,  pile  in, 
you  four,  two  on  the  seat  and  two  behind,  and 
we  will  be  off." 

Didn't  they  pile  in!  Mr.  Armour  untied 
the  horse  and  stepped  in  himself.  Josephus 
tossed  his  head,  as  if  to  say,  "See  how  I  will 
do  it,"  and  was  off  at  a  spanking  trot,  which 
put  the  merry  party  out  of  sight  in  a  moment. 

Hardly  had  the  sound  of  the  wheels  died 
away,  when  Miss  Holt  called  for  Bernard. 

"Come  into  the  house,  and  we  will  get  up  a 
surprise  of  our  own  while  they  are  away,"  she 
said. 

When  he  obeyed  her  request,  she  asked  him 
to  go  into  the  room  he  had  used  before,  and 
change  the  new  outer  shirt  for  his  jacket,  and 
bring  it  to  her.  This  done,  she  told  him  to  sit 


MORE  FUN  AND  SOME  HORSE-SENSE.    185 

down,  and  watch  what  she  would  do.  Now, 
this  rather  remarkable  young  woman,  with  her 
other  accomplishments,  was  quite  skillful  in  em- 
broidery, and  could  make  her  fingers  and  sewing- 
machine  "do  just  anything  she  pleased," — at 
least  Edward  said  so. 

As  she  sat  down  before  her  machine,  she  at- 
tached the  embroiderer,  and,  opening  one  of  the 
drawers,  took  out  some  spools  of  silk,  and,  in  a 
very  short  time,  had  the  machine  clicking  away 
at  a  furious  rate.  Bernard  sat  in  almost  breath- 
less wonder  while  "  things  just  flew,"  as  he  told 
her  when  she  had  finished.  This  she  did  by  the 
time  Josephus  had  wheeled  the  gleeful  party 
back  again.  When  she  arose,  she  held  up  her 
work  with  evident  satisfaction  to  herself;  for 
she  nodded  her  bright  head  at  it,  as  if  to  say, 
"You'll  do."  Telling  Bernard  to  go  into  the 
room  and  make  one  more  change,  she  flitted 
into  the  buttery,  and  then  out  into  the  yard  to 
caress  Josephus,  who  whinnied  again  as  he  saw 
her  coming,  and  daintily  took  the  lump  of  sugar 
she  offered  him  on  her  open  palm. 

It  was  not  very  long  before  Bernard  made 
his  appearance,  and  was  greeted  with  a  shower 
of  exclamations  and  questions.  Mr.  Armour  so 
far  forgot  himself  as  to  indulge  in  a  whistle  of 
astonishment,  and  his  eyes  made  one  of  their 

occasional    notes.      How   even    a    smart    young 

1 6 


1 86  ROCKTON, 

woman  could  have  accomplished  so  much  in  so 
short  time,  was  a  wonder;  but  the  boys  thought 
the  work  itself  a  still  greater  wonder. 

Around  the  collar  of  Bernard's  new  blue 
shirt  she  had  put  a  yellow  band,  and  in  each 
corner  a  five-pointed  star.  On  each  shoulder 
there  was  a  neat  shoulder  knot.  Around  the 
cuffs  there  was  a  band  matching  the  collar.  On 
the  left  side  of  the  front  there  was  a  beautiful 
white  lily,  while  on  the  other  side  there  was  a 
five-pointed  yellow  star.  How  Mr.  Long  grinned, 
and  getting  behind  the  young  woman's  back, 
made  a  speech  to  the  boys  in  pantomime  that 
fairly  convulsed  them !  Mr.  Armour  said  some- 
thing in  a  low  tone,  and  this,  or  the  sunshine, 
made  her  face  look  a  trifle  rosy.  Speaking  loud 
enough  to  be  heard,  he  asked  her  to  explain  her 
work  to  the  boys.  Now,  as  before  intimated, 
Miss  Sarah  was  not  inclined  to  little  preach- 
ments, but  she  told  the  boys  that  she  put  the 
white  lily  oh  the  left  side,  hoping  they  might  re- 
member it  as  an  emblem  of  purity,  and  try  and 
keep  their  hearts  pure;  and  that  she  intended 
the  five-pointed  star  as  the  special  badge  of  The 
Quintet,  and  hoped  it  would  shine  brightly  in 
good  deeds. 

Adolphus  chivalrously  proposed  that  Miss 
Sarah  A.  Holt  be  made  a  life  patron  of  their 
club,  which  went  through  with  double-handed 


MORE  FUN  AND  SOME  HORSE-SENSE.     187 

unanimity,  for  each  boy  shoved  up  all  his  digits 
as  high  as  he  could,  and  Jabez  Long  did  the 
same.  Seeing  him  do  this,  and  perhaps  re- 
minded by  his  stomach,  Benjamin  Strong  moved 
that,  "Whereas  and  inasmuch  as  Mr.  Jabez 
Long  furnished  the  first  refreshments  The  Jolly 
Quintet  ever  enjoyed  in  its  collective  capacity, 
and  is  in  all  respects  its  generous  friend,  he  be 
elected  one  of  its  life  patrons."  This  passed 
by  a  unanimous  vote  and  an  encore,  Mr.  Ar- 
mour said,  and  then  called  on  the  newly  made 
life  patrons  for  speeches.  Mr.  Long  dodged  out 
of  the  door,  but  Miss  Sarah  said: 

"We  life  patrons  ought  to  do  something  for 
The  Jolly  Quintet,  which  has  conferred  such 
high  honors  upon  us.  For  my  part,  if  the  boys 
\vill  go  for  their  suits  early  Saturday  afternoon, 
and  will  bring  them  to  the  house,  I  will  em- 
broider them  like  this  Bernard  has  on,  and  will 
also  put  a  narrow  stripe  or  cord  on  the  outer 
seam  of  the  trousers.  Mr.  Long,  for  his  part, 
and  to  punish  him  for  dodging  a  speech,  shall 
furnish  the  silk." 

At  the  close  off  these  very  satisfactory  re- 
marks, Adolphus  pulled  of  his  cap,  and  called 
for  three  rousing  cheers  for  the  first  life  patron 
of  The  Quintet;  after  which  Mr.  Armour  said: 

"I  will  drive  Josephus  down  to  the  Center, 
Saturday  noon,  and  get  the  suits,  and  bring 


1 88  ROCKTON. 

them  to  our  most  efficient  and  respected  life 
patron." 

On  hearing  this  promise,  Bernard,  with  great 
gravity,  proposed  that  Josephus  should  also  be 
made  a  life  patron,  which  was  as  gravely  voted, 
and  followed  with  the  usual  cheers.  This  time 
Josephus  whinnied  a  response,  as  if  he  under- 
stood that  he  had  been  honored;  or  was  it  a 
horse-laugh  at  their  nonsense? 

When,  at  this  point  in  the  proceedings,  Mr. 
Holt  drove  up,  old  Charley  looked  suspiciously 
at  the  unusual  crowd,  but  suffered  himself  to  be 
unharnessed  and  led  into  his  ample  stall ;  where, 
with  supreme  indifference  to  anything  else,  he 
proceeded  to  munch  his  supper,  and  perhaps 
afterward  to  meditate  on  the  inferiority  of  all 
two-legged  races. 

Miss  Sarah  informed  all  concerned  that  tea 
would  be  ready  in  precisely  fifteen  minutes,  and 
then  slipped  away  to  make  her  promise  good. 
There  is  no  need  of  describing  the  scene  around 
that  big  extension-table,  made  by  Mr.  Holt's 
own  hands,  and  this  evening  drawn  out  to  its 
fullest  extent.  "Flaky  biscuit?"  Yes.  "Splen- 
did butter?"  Yes.  "  Stacks  of  cake,  dear  to  a 
boy's  eye  and  taste?"  Yes.  "The  nicest  of 
preserves,  equally  dear?"  Yes.  Everything 
was  "just  splendid,"  if  what  all  the  boys  said, 
and  the  men  looked,  may  be  believed. 


MORE  FUN  AND  SOME  HORSE-SENSE.     189 

Mr.  Holt  sat  on  one  side  of  the  table,  and 
Mrs.  Holt  opposite.  He  declared  he  never 
would  sit  at  one  end  of  his  table  and  have  his 
wife  away  at  the  other  end.  He  wanted  her 
where  he  could  see  her  easily,  and  wished  him- 
self to  be  where  he  could  look  after  everybody 
else.  Mr.  Armour  sat  at  one  end  and  Mr.  Long 
at  the  other,  the  boys  filling  the  spaces  be- 
tween— and  the  other  spaces  within.  Adolphus, 
with  great  gallantry,  made  a  place  for  Miss 
Sarah  beside  himself;  which  precocious  maneu- 
ver caused  sundry  nudges  and  jealous  side- 
glances  among  the  residue  of  The  Quintet,  and 
ornamented  Mr.  Armour's  face  with  one  of  the 
broadest  of  comical  smiles. 

As  a  matter  of  course  there  was  much  talk 
concerning  future  tramps;  but  nothing  very  defi- 
nite was  proposed  until  Adolphus  said  that  Miss 
Barber  had  told  him  that  probably  the  next 
Thursday  the  most  of  the  rooms  in  the  school- 
building  would  be  closed,  in  order  that  the 
teachers  might  visit  other  schools.  This  an- 
nouncement unloosed  a  mimic  Babel  of  tongues. 
After  the  boys  had  proposed,  suggested,  and 
wished  all  they  could  think  of,  they  appealed  to 
Mr.  Armour  to  decide.  He  said: 

"If  there  is  to  be  no  school  on  Thursday, 
and  you  can  be  spared  from  home,  you  may 
meet  me  at  Mr.  Holt's  barn  at  eight  o'clock." 


IQO     •  ROCKTON. 

"Where  will  we  go?"  all  interruptingly 
chorused. 

"No  matter  now,"  he  replied.  "You  obey 
orders.  Every  one  of  you  bring  a  generous 
luncheon  of  bread,  neatly  done  up.  No  butter 
on  it,  remember.  Butter  is  very  good,  but  when 
spread  on  bread  and  grown  warm,  it  is  spoiled 
and  spoils  the  bread.  If  you  bring  any  cake, 
let  it  be  of  a  plain  kind,  and  only  one  slice." 
Here  Benjamin  made  a  wry  face.  "  Edward 
will  bring,  besides  his  luncheon,  a  piece  of  fat, 
salt  pork,  as  big  as  my  fist,"  and  he  held  up  a 
clenched  hand  that  made  every  boy  laugh. 
"Mind,  Edward,  that  it  is  wiped  dry,  and  rolled 
up  in  enough  paper  to  prevent  its  soiling  any- 
thing else.  All  other  fixings  I  will  have  on 
hand." 

Then,  turning  to  Mr.  Holt,  he  asked: 

"  May  T  leave  Josephus  for  that  day  in  your 
barn,  and  will  you  give  him  a  dinner?" 

"Yes,  and  a  supper  besides,"  was  the  reply. 

The  boys  were  greatly  excited  and  full  of 
inquisitiveness ;  but  their  tall  friend  gave  no 
further  hint  of  his  intentions.  At  a  quarter  to 
eight  he  said : 

"  I  think  it  is  time  to  go.  I  am  sure  Jo- 
sephus will  be  delighted  to  wind  up  this  ex- 
ceedingly good  time  by  taking  us  home." 


MORE  FUN  AND  SOME  HORSE-SENSE.     191 

Mr.  Long  demurred.     He  said : 

"I've  told  you  I  have  a  special  regard  for 
my  neck." 

It  was,  however,  of  no  use ;  for  he  was  told 
that  the  "Great  Emporium"  needed  his  pres- 
ence right  away,  and  he  must  ride. 

Josephus  was  soon  at  the  front  gate.  Mr. 
Holt,  with  his  wife  and  Sarah  and  Edward, 
stood  in  the  porch  to  say  good-bye.  Mr.  Armour 
and  Mr.  Long,  with  Bernard  squeezed  between 
them,  were  on  the  front  seat,  while  the  rest  of  the 
boys  were  stowed  in  behind.  Then  four  glee- 
ful, boyish  voices  gave  three  gleeful  cheers, 
while  two  men  waved  their  hats,  and  Josephus 
whinnied. 

Then  a  full,  pleasant  voice  said: 

"Go  on,  Joe." 

And  he  went !  with  the  boys  laughing  out  of 
their  full  hearts,  and  Mr.  Jabez  Long  holding  on 
to  the  seat  as  if  for  dear  life. 


•^1"       »\L«       •v!/*       *sL*       *vL*       *sl--*        *sl^*       "Nt^       *sl'*      ' 

3feo5oG^k^roGror^oc^fe3Ooc^^^ 

^.j^S 


J 


CHAPTER 


SOMETHING  BETWEEN  WHILES. 


PrROM  that  memorable  Wednesday  after- 
noon, around  to  the  second  Thursday 
morning  following,  was  a  very  long  time  for 
our  five  eager  boys  to  wait,  as  every  one 
will  allow  who  was  ever  a  boy,  and  fond  of 
boyish  fun.  But  the  days  of  their  waiting 


were  by  no  means  idle  days  in  Rockton.  This 
story  is  of  necessity  narrowed  to  a  few  of  the 
doings  of  a  few  boys.  Rockton  was  full  of  boys 
and  girls,  and  to  write  ten  lines  about  each  of 
them  and  their  friends  would  make  a  book  so 
appallingly  big  that  no  publisher  in  the  whole 
world  would  dare  print  it.  Neither  could  all 
Rockton  be  busy  with  the  affairs  of  The  Jolly 
Quintet.  Even  Mr.  Armour  had  many  other 
and  very  weighty  things  on  his  hands.  He  often 
said,  he  could  find  work  enough  for  fifty  men, 
if  he  could  find  the  men  willing  to  do  it.  While 
the  history  herein  narrated  was  being  made, 
192 


SOMETHING  BETWEEN  WHILES.         193 

even  the  few  men,  women,  and  boys  who  figure 
in  it  were  doing  a  great  many  other  things — and 
of  greater  importance  too — which  will  never  be 
thus  recorded. 

It  will  probably  be  remembered  that  Annis 
Crab  once  called  Mr.  Armour  "  queer."  Rock- 
ton — and  especially  that  part  of  it  known  as 
Northville — had  for  some  time  been  settled 
down  in  the  firm  conviction  that  he  was  very 
different  from  a  great  many  other  men.  More- 
over it  seemed  to  be  quite  well  pleased  with  the 
fact. 

To  say  that  everybody  liked  this  tall,  "  queer" 
man  might  not  be  the  exact  truth  ;  nevertheless 
it  would  not  be  an  easy  task  to  find  a  half-dozen 
people  with  hardihood  enough  to  express  a  dis- 
like. Even  Annis  Crab  would  smile  longer 
after  he  had  smiled  at  her  than  she  would  if 
any  other  man  looked  at  her.  Granny  Xorcross 
everybody  knew  to  be  an  inveterate  growler ; 
but  she  would  hobble  out  into  the  front  yard  on  a 
pleasant  day  for  the  chance  to  speak  with  him,  if 
she  happened  to  see  him  coining  down  the  street. 

William  Murch,  the  burly  blacksmith,  whose 
shop  is  on  Cedar  Street,  and  who,  sad  to  say, 
had  long  been  a  bruiser  and  drunkard,  and  very 
profane,  and  who,  as  a  natural  consequence,  had 
been  in  the  habit  of  abusing  his  betters,  was 
deferentially  polite  to  Mr.  Armour.  And  this 

17 


194  ROCKTON. 

was  not  all ;  this  "  turrubble  man,"  as  Granny 
Norcross  called  him,  actually  reformed !  Rock- 
ton  never  got  over  this  wonder. 

One  day  Murch  had  gathered  quite  a  crowd 
around  him  on  a  street-corner,  and  was  cursing, 
swearing,  and  berating  everybody.  Mr.  Armour 
came  along,  heard  him  a  moment,  and  then 
pushed  his  way  through  the  crowd,  and  gave 
the  profane  bully  a  "  dressing  down  "  in  a  clear, 
level  voice,  the  like  of  which  no  one  who  list- 
ened had  ever  heard  before.  The  great,  hulking 
sot  and  blasphemer  was  cowed  and  shamed, 
and  slunk  away.  Then  this  "queer"  man 
turned  upon  the  crowd  who  had  been  listening 
and  laughing  at  Murch's  foulness,  and  gave 
them,  if  possible,  a  more  scathing  "  dressing 
down  "  for  abetting  his  wickedness. 

Some  months  after  this,  Murch  was  in  his 
shop,  and,  for  a  marvel,  sober.  It  was  a  rainy 
day,  and  quite  a  group  of  his  cronies  had  gath- 
ered in  his  shop  for  shelter  from  the  wet,  and 
to  while  away  a  dreary  hour.  Murch  was  ham- 
mering away  at  a  red-hot  iron  he  was  fashion- 
ing into  a  horse-shoe,  when  Mr.  Armour,  who 
was  on  his  way  up  the  street,  halted  at  the  door 
long  enough  to  say,  "  Good  afternooon,  Mr. 
Murch ;  glad  to  see  you  making  the  sparks 
fly,"  and  then,  with  his  frank  smile,  was  gone. 

No  sooner  was  his  back  turned   than  one  of 


•     SOMETHING  BETWEEN  WHILES.          195 

the  rough  crowd  made  some  rude  remark  in  a 
low  tone,  which  Murch  heard,  and  instantly 
he  blazed  up  hotter  than  his  forge  fire,. and  said  : 

"  You  jest  shet  up !  He 's  a  squar',  good 
man,  an'  doin'  lots  of  good." 

"  Like  ter  know  what  good  he  's  done?"  the 
fellow  grunted,  eying  Murch  in  astonishment. 

"  He  told  me  the  truth  about  my  deviltry 
when  you  fellers  were  eggin'  me  on,"  replied 
the  incensed  blacksmith.  "  And  that  ain't  all. 
He 's  tried  since  to  do  me  good.  When  my  wife  was 
getting  up  from  the  fever  my  cussid  ways  brought 
on  her,  an'  the  doctor  said  she  ought  ter  ride  out 
an'  git  the  air  to  help  her  along,  what  did  he  do 
but  come  round  with  a  nice,  big,  easy  carriage  " — 
this  was  before  Josephus  made  his  appearance 
in  Rockton — "I  don't  know  where  he  got  it; 
s'pose  he  hired  an'  paid  for  it — an'  he  just  took 
wife  an'  all  the  children  " — there  were  several 
young  Murches — "out  for  a  good,  long  ride.  The 
very  last  time  I  went  on  a  tear,  he  found  me  an' 
got  me  home,  and  then  stuck  by  me  till  I  so- 
bered off.  Yes,  siree!  Any  man  who  says  any- 
thing agin'  him  will  have  me  in  his  hair!  I'm 
bust  if  I  hain't  a  mind  to  squar'  round,  as  he  told 
me  to,  an'  be  a  man." 

"What!  Leave  off  driukin'  an'  swearin'?'' 
asked 'the  most  courageous  of  his  hearers. 

"Yes,  siree?"    was    the  answer,  and  the  l>i.^ 


196  ROCK-TON. 

hammer  came  down  on  the  fast  cooling  iron  with 
a  mighty  thud. 

"  You  dassen't,"  sneered  the  loafer. 

This  was  altogether  too  much  for  Murch. 
He  dropped  his  hammer,  and  coming  nearer  the 
group,  he  said : 

"  Look  here,  boys  !  Sam  Smith  says  I  dassen't 
quit.  Hain't  I  dared  to  git  drunk  as  a  fool? 
Hain't  I  dared  ter  swear,  an'  fight,  an'  abuse 
my  fam'ly  like  a  brute;  an'  hain't  I  dared  to  be 
a  disgrace  an'  cuss  to  this  naberhood  for  years  ?" 
Every  one  of  this  string  of  questions  he  empha- 
sized by  bringing  his  huge  right  fist  down  into 
the  palm  of  his  left  hand.  As  all  were  silent, 
and  looking  at  him  in  this  new  mood,  almost  in 
terror,  he  broke  out  again :  "  Why  do  n't  yer 
answer  me?  Hain't  I  dared  to  do  all  these?" 

"Yer  have,  Bill,  sartin'  true!"  said  old  Mal- 
achi  Barnes,  who  was  just  then  coming  in  with 
a  trace-chain  that  needed  welding ;  "  and  it 's 
high  time  you  quit !" 

"  That 's  what  I  jest  told  the  boys  !"  Murch 
replied,  "  an'  Sam  Smith  says  I  dassen't."  Then 
turning  to  the  crowd,  he  said:  "And  yer  jest 
stand  up,  every  one  of  you !"  Utterly  amazed, 
they  all  got  up.  Murch  continued :  "  Now, 
you  all  hear  me '  No  more  drink  for  me ! 
I'm  jest  going  to  turn  squar'  round!  I'll  put 
on  a  clean  shirt  an'  go  ter  meetin'  Sundays! 


SOMKTHlXf?   BETWEEN    WHILES.  197 

There 's  my  little  wife  !  God  bless  her  "—and  his 
great  voice  softened  and  faltered — "  she  's  the 
best  wife  ever  tied  to  a  brute!  I  '11  git  her  an' 
the  little  ones  out  of  that  shanty  in  the  back 
yard  !  I  'in  goin'  ter  be  respectable  an'  good ! 
Yer  may  jest  tell  all  the  town  !" 

It  may  have  been  a  strange,  it  was  a  very  happy 
occurrence,  that  as  he  began  this  last  speech, 
a  slight,  sorrowful-looking  woman  was  coining 
into  the  shop  by  the  rear  door,  and  heard  every 
word  of  it.  All  the  geniuses  who  ever  wrote, 
take  them  together,  could  not  paint  the  marvel- 
ous transformations  in  her  face  while  she  list- 
ened. At  the  first  tones  of  her  husband's  loud 
voice  there  was  a  dark  shadow  on  it,  as  if  she 
feared  the  worst  ;  then  came  a  puzzled,  doubtful 
expression ;  then  a  hope-light  broke  through 
the  shadow  ;  then  all  color  faded  out  as  though 
she  was  about  to  faint;  then  over  all  her  fea- 
tures came  a  surge  of  color  and  unspeakable 
gladness.  When  she  heard  the  last  words,  her 
look  of  mingled  thankfulness  and  joy  was  fairly 
dazzling — Malachi  Barnes  afterwards  said  :  "  It 
lighted  up  the  whole  shop." 

Whatever  she  came  for  was  forgotten,  and 
never  afterwards  could  she  remember  the  er- 
rand. All  she  could  say  was,  UO  Bill!"  but  ten 
thousand  angels  could  not  put  more  rapture  into 
a  hallelujah.  "  Bill  "  turned  at  the  word,  and 


198  ROCKTON. 

was  by  her  side  in  a  moment.  Putting  "his  arm 
around  her,  he  drew  her  forward  until  both  were 
standing  in  the  midst  of  the  now  thoroughly 
excited  men. 

"  Did  yer  hear  me,  Mollie  ?"  he  asked. 

She  looked  up  into  his  face  too  full  of  her 
great  joy  to  speak  again,  and  nodded.  The  big 
fellow  stooped  and  kissed  her,  and  then  said : 
"  God  helping  me,  I  '11  do  jest  what  I  've  said  I 
would." 

There  was  another  listener.  Mr.  Armour, 
on  his  way  back  from  somewhere,  caught  the 
sound  of  the  strident  voice  of  the  blacksmith. 
He  stopped  out  of  sight  beside  the  door,  where, 
under  his  dripping  umbrella,  he  heard  the 
words  which  filled  Mrs.  Murch  with  so  great 
joy.  He  now  came  in,  and  walking  up  to  Mr. 
Murch,  grasped  him  by  t\\f  hand,  and  said : 

"This  is  a  grand  start.  You  are  headed 
right.  Go  on,  and  all  good  people  will  stand 
by  you." 

Sam  Smith  said  it  was  the  wettest  time  he  'd 
ever  seen.  Murch  sobbed  and  cried,  the  tears 
streaking  his  smutty  face.  His  wife  cried  softly, 
and  O,  so  gladly!  A  delightful  sun-shower! 
Malachi  Barnes  just  blubbered  aloud  like  a  well- 
whipped  school-boy.  Every  loafer,  even  to 
Sam  Smith,  sniffed,  sniveled,  or  cried.  Mr.  Ar- 
mour's voice  was  husky,  and  he  wiped  his  shin- 


SOMETHING  BETWEEN  WHILES.         199 

ing  eyes  with  the  back  of  his  hand  precisely  as 
he  would  if  he  were  crying  too.  Yes,  it  was  a 
very  wet  time  ;  and  it  caused  a  spring-time  of 
tender  joy,  that  grew  at  length  into  the  wealth 
of  a  radiant  summer  of  delight. 

On  the  very  day  The  Jolly  Quintet  were  tak- 
ing their  first,  so  to  speak,  corporate  tramp, 
there  was  an  empty  tenement  behind  the  shop, 
where  Mr.  Murch  was  singing  in  a  thunderous 
bass,  and  pounding  iron  from  morning  until 
night.  There  had  been  a  flitting  that  all  Rock- 
ton  had  been  interested  in.  Then,  too,  the  Mrs. 
Murch,  that  Rockton  had  known  for  years,  was 
gone  forever!  Not  that  there  had  been  a 
funeral ;  things  were  altogether  too  jolly  for 
that !  The  Mrs.  Murch  who  came  smiling 
into  the  shop,  was  a  bright,  plump,  little  woman, 
who  stepped  around  as  lively  as  the  proverbial 
cricket.  Mr.  Murch  looked  at  this  new  Mrs. 
Murch  with  great  admiration.  How  could  he  help 
it?  She  was  so  lovely  and  so  well  dress,ed  !  And 
the  old  Mrs.  Murch,  seeing  she  was  gone  forever, 
did  n't  care  one  bit.  This  new  Mrs.  Murch 
came  in  to  tell  the  very  lover-like  Mr.  Murch, 
that  the  last  bit  of  work  in  getting  the  new 
home  "  all  fixed  up,"  was  done,  and  she  was 
out  just  for  the  fun  of  walking  around  with 
nothing  else  to  do.  And  what  did  the  great  big 
fellow  do  but  off  with  his  leather  apron,  souse 


206  ROCKTOTJ. 

hands,  arms,  and  head  in  a  tub  of  water,  and 
then  rub  them  until  they  shone.  Then  he  on 
with  coat  and  hat,  and,  without  the  least  regret 
for  the  old  Mrs.  Murch — as  has  been  said,  now 
gone  forever — insisted  on  taking  this  smiling, 
dimpling,  girlish,  new  Mrs.  Murch  down  to  the 
center  of  Rockton,  where  he  treated  her  to  a  set 
of  China  that  made  half  the  women  in  North- 
ville  envious  for  three  months  after. 

It  has  been  said  that  there  was  a  great  deal 
going  on  while  our  Quintet  were  forced  to  wait 
for  that  extra  Thursday. 

Mr.  Armour  had,  in  his  peculiar  way,  to  look 
after  many  boys  and  girls.  The  Saturday  fol- 
lowing that  "  good  time  "  on  Ridge  Street  he 
had  half  the  girls  and  boys  of  North ville  with 
him  in  a  delightful  walk  to  a  small  grove  he 
had  discovered,  where  there  was  plenty  of  shade, 
and  a  spring  of  clear,  cool  water.  Here  they 
frolicked  until  they  were  satisfied,  and  then  who 
should  appear  but  four  of  The  Quintet,  tugging 
along  two  enormous  baskets  of  sandwiches  that 
Mr.  Armour  had  found  somebody  to  provide, 
and  that  Adolphus  Grant's  father  had  brought 
with  the  boys  in  his  express  wagon,  to  the  edge 
of  the  grove. 

Quite  a  number  of  Northville  mothers,  having 
got  their  Saturday's  work  largely  done,  came  out 
to  see  the  fun,  and  admire  the  healthy  voracity  of 


SOMETHING  BETWEEN  WHILES.        201 

their  children,  as  the  sandwiches  disappeared 
with  marvelous  celerity.  Besides  these,  there 
were  some  elder  sisters,  and  Annis  Crab  came 
out  to  see  u  the  scrape,"  of  course.  But  why 
should  n't  she  ?  She  furnished  two  loaves  of  just 
the  whitest  and  nicest  bread ;  moreover,  she 
prepared  more  sandwiches  than  any  one  else. 

Mr.  Jabez  Long  came  up,  fanning  himself 
furiously  with  his  straw  hat,  just  in  time  to  see 
the  last  boy  filled,  and  to  capture  a  sandwich  for 
himself.  As  he  bit  a  huge  semicircle  out  of  its 
side,  Annis  asked  him  how  he  could  afford  to 
leave  "  The  Great  Emporium  "  on  Saturday  aft- 
ernoon. Our  droll  friend  chuckled  while  he 
munched,  and  told  her  that  the  kind  Providence 
that  watched  over  old  maids  and  old  bachelors 
had  provided  him  with  a  first-class  saleswoman, 
who  would  do  a  smashing  business  in  his  absence. 
This  has  incidentally  something  to  do  with  our 
story,  and  may  need  a  little  explanation. 

The  Thursday  morning  immediately  follow- 
ing the  never-to-be-forgotten  "  good  time "  on 
Ridge  Street,  Adolphus  Grant  was  on  his  way  to 
Mr.  Long's  on  an  errand  for  his  mother.  It 
was  quite  early,  and  he  met  Bernard  Walters 
with  a  basket  of  freshly  washed  and  ironed 
clothes  perched  on  his  little  wagon.  "  Hey, 
Brick,"  he  said  ;  "  business  must  be  rushing  to 
have  you  delivering  goods  so  early." 


202  ROCKTON. 

Usually  Bernard  is  a  bright,  good-natured 
boy,  and  brimful  of  healthy  fun ;  but  this 
morning  he  was  dumpish  and  sad.  As  he 
looked  at  Adolphus,  his  chin  quivered  and  his 
face  was  full  of  woe-begoneness  and  sorrow. 

"  Why,  old  fellow,  you  look  bad  ;  what 's  the 
matter  with  you  ?"  Adolphus  asked. 

"  N-nothing  with  me,"  was  the  reply. 

"'What  is  the  matter,  then?" 

"  M-mother  has  got  a  bad  hand,"  answered 
Bernard,  quite  ready  to  cry. 

And  then  he  told  the  story  of  his  sorrow  as 
best  he  could ;  how  his  mother  had  been 
troubled  with  her  ringers  for  several  days,  but 
had  kept  at  work  because  there  was  a  great 
press  of  work  caused  by  the  recent  long  rainy 
spell ;  how  her  hand  had  pained  her  so  much 
she  could  scarcely  use  it  at  all ;  how  she  had 
been  able  to  sleep  but  a  few  moments  at  a  time 
for  three  nights ;  how,  on  the  clay  before,  she 
just  managed  to  finish  the  batch  he  then  had  on 
his  wagon,  and  when  this  was  done,  went  to  see 
Doctor  Blood,  who  said  she  had  a  felon,  and 
that  it  had  been  neglected  so  long  there  was 
nothing  to  do  but  open  the  finger  with  his 
lancet,  and  make  thorough  work  of  it.  Tears 
ran  down  his  cheeks  while  he  told  the  story. 

"I  wish  I  had  it  on  my  hand  instead  of 
mother's,"  he  said,  his  eyes  full  of  pain  and  love. 


SOMEWHAT  BETWEEN  WHILES.         203 

When  still  further  questioned  by  Adolphus, 
he  told  him  how  the  lancing  of  the  finger  had 
brought  relief,  and  how  his  mother,  worn  out  by 
the  pain  she  had  suffered,  was  soundly  sleeping; 
and  how  he  got  up  as  quietly  as  he  could,  and 
started  the  fire,  and  now  was  taking  Mrs. 
Waite's  washing  home  because  he  knew  his 
mother  wished  it  done.  When  he  had  thus  told 
his  story,  he  picked  up  the  tongue  of  his  wagon 
and  sadly  hauled  it  away. 

When  Adolphus  entered  Mr.  Long's  store, 
that  estimable  man  saw  the  shadow  on  his 
young  friend's  face,  and,  possessed  as  he  was  of 
an  inquiring  mind,  it  was  not  many  minutes  be- 
fore Bernard's  story  was  repeated  to  him. 

"Hum-m-m!"  he  said  to  himself,  after  Adol- 
phus was  gone.  "I  wonder — "  and  then  he 
went  around  the  store  with  a  wrinkle  of  deep 
thought  between  his  eyes.  Customers  were  not 
very  plenty  after  the  children,  on  their  way  to 
school,  had  done  their  errands,  or  made  a  few 
small  purchases  for  themselves.  He  went  on  put- 
ting things  to  right  about  the  store  in  a  methodical 
but  mechanical  way,  that  allowed  him  to  indulge 
in  a  very  long  and  a  very  brown,  brown  study.  At 
about  half-past  ten  o'clock  he  was  rolling  up  the 
piece  of  red  flannel  he  had  been  showing  to  a 
woman  whose  husband,  being  the  "skipper"  of 
a  "coaster,"  will  not  wear  at  sea  shirts  made  of 


204  ROCKTON. 

any  other  material,  when  he  stopped  short,  and 
his  face  broke  into  a  smile.  He  nodded  his  head 
in  his  characteristically  sagacious  way,  as  if 
complimenting  himself  for  his  genius,  slapped 
his  fat  thigh  sharply,  and  ejaculated : 

"Sure  as  guns,  it's  just  the  thing!" 

And  then,  as  if  there  might  possibly  be  a 
little  uncertainty  lurking  somewhere  in  the 
matter,  he  added: 

"I'll  try  it  on,  see  if  I  don't!" 

Then  he  called  out: 

"Sue!     Sue!" 

Sue  is  his  niece,  and  was  book-keeper  and 
general  assistant  about  the  establishment,  but 
who,  on  account  of  her  own  private  affairs,  the 
nature  of  which  will  shortly  be  disclosed,  had 
been  absent  from  her  post  more  than  half  the 
time  for  several  weeks. 

"What  is  it?"  she  asked  from  the  desk  at 
the  rear  of  the  store,  where  she  was  posting  the 
books. 

"You  just  look  after  this  concern  while  I 
am  out,"  he  replied,  at  the  same  time  jamming 
his  hat  resolutely  on  his  head  and  making  tracks 
for  the  door,  through  which  he  instantly  disap- 
peared. In  a  very  short  time,  for  a  man  of  his 
build  and  habits,  he  was  on  Linden  Street,  and 
rapping  at  Mrs.  Walters's  door.  There  must 
have  been  some  matter  of  considerable  impor- 


SOMKU-IIAT  Bi-:r\\-EE\  WHILES.  205 

tance  under  consideration,  for  it  was  nearly  an 
hour  before  he  came  out  and  walked  slowly 
back  to  the  store.  The  result  of  his  visit  must 
have  been  quite  satisfactory;  for  Annis  Crab, 
who  saw  him  as  he  went  by,  said  to  her  mother: 

"There  goes  Jabez  Long.  He  looks  might- 
ily tickled  about  something." 

This  "something"  became  a  public  posses- 
sion almost  immediately. 

Mrs.  Walters  appeared,  "bright  and  early," 
on  Friday  morning,  in  the  "Great  Emporium." 
She  bought  nothing;  but,  with  a  smiling  face, 
went  behind  the  counter  where  Sue — laughing 
and  giggling,  as  young  women  will — and  delight- 
fully, too,  proceeded  to  initiate  her  into  the 
mysteries  of  the  business.  Mr.  Long,  it  seems, 
did  not  know  that  she  had  learned  much  of 
these  mysteries  while  her  husband  was  alive. 

The  next  Monday  morning,  when  Solomon 
Whagg  dropped  in  on  his  customary  rounds,  he 
stared  at  the  comely  widow  as  she  was  busy 
straightening  laces,  and  was  too  much  surprised 
for  the  smallest  kind  of  a  joke.  When  she  had 
gone  to  the  farther  part  of  the  store  to  consult 
with  Sue,  he  looked  a  half-dozen  questions  at 
Mr.  Long  at  once,  which  this  accommodating 
gentleman  proceeded  to  answer. 

"You  see,  that  niece  of  mine  is  so  anxious 
to  better  her  condition  in  life,  that  she  has 


206  ROCKTON, 

promised  young  Henry  Fall,  down  at  the 
Center — " 

"Everybody  knows  that,"  interrupted  Sol- 
omon. 

"Of  course  everybody  knows  it,"  continued 
Jabez;  "but  everybody  don't  know  they  are 
going  to  be  married  in  about  six  weeks ;  and 
Henry  has  bought  the  new  cottage  that  Mr. 
Holt  built  on  Blossom  Street,  and  they  are 
going  to  keep  house  there.  Sue  has  pestered  me 
for  weeks.  She  has  been  over  there  more  than 
half  her  time,  fixing  things  up.  I  wonder  some 
one  has  not  found  her  out.  What  to  do  to  fill 
her  place  I  could  not  for  the  life  of  me  tell. 
As  good  luck  would  have  it,  Mrs.  Walters  got 
a  convenient  felon  on  her  finger  that  shut  down 
on  her  business  for  awhile.  I  saw  my  chance, 
and  clinched  a  bargain  with  her  at  once." 

"Smart  woman,"  commented  Solomon  ap- 
provingly. 

"Smart?  You've  just  hit  it,"  said  Jabez. 
"Just  look  at  those  shelves!  Takes  to  this 
business  as  'a  duck  does  to  the  water.'  Beats  Sue 
all  hollow;  and  Sue  is  a  good,  smart  girl  too." 

Mr.  Long  was  not  far  out  of  the  way  in  his 
eulogy.  He  who  saw  Mrs.  Walters  about  the 
store  saw  a  trim,  energetic,  sweet-faced  little 
woman,  who  won  the  hearts  of  all  Mr.  Long's 
customers,  not  excepting  Granny  Norcross,  who 


SOMEWHAT  BETWEEN  WHILES.          207 

perhaps,  because  of  the  natural  contrariness  of 
her  disposition,  declared  that  she  was  "  harn- 
sumer  than  that  gigglin'  Sue;"  which  remark, 
when  it  was  repeated  to  Sue,  only  made  her 
giggle  the  more.  Only  a  neat-fitting  cot  on  the 
first  finger  of  Mrs.  Walters's  right  hand  told 
anything  about  the  felon  All  the  rest  of  her 
shapely  fingers  were  so  nimble  and  dexterous  as 
to  promise  astonishing  results  when  the  other 
should  complete  its  rapid  recovery.  Bernard 
was  delighted,  and  more  frolicksome  than  ever. 
It  was  evident  Edward  Holt  would  have  no 
further  occasion  to  run  errands  for  Mr.  Long. 


afet&uiJ&a^^  **•  4"- 

VfW  •J/'M/'W  \if\l  f^1i"\1t"\1f\1f 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THAT  THURSDAY-THE  START. 

I 

S  the  days  were  going  slowly  by,  and 
Thursday  was  so  tardily  approaching, 
our  young  friends  held  several  sessions  in 
"  committee  of  the  whole,"  and  sagely  de~ 
bated  the  probable  nature  of  the  excursion 
^  which  Mr.  Armour  had  promised.  Perhaps 
the  slight  mystery  which  hung  over  it  made 
their  anticipations  all  the  more  delightful.  Ben- 
jamin thought  that  they  were  not  to  go  a  great 
way  or  be  gone  a  very  long  time,  else  they 
would  have  been  instructed  to  take  more  "grub." 
Edward  thought  it  might  be  possible  that  they 
were  to  go  hunting  'coons  or  rabbits  from  the 
fact  that  when  Mr.  Armour  brought  the  suits  to 
his  sister  to  be  decorated,  he  also  left  in  her  care 
a  box  which  had  a  label  on  it,  on  which  he  saw 
the  words  '  Pocket  Rifle."  Bernard  suggested 
that  it  might  be  a  tramp  to  "  Cannon  Rock," 

and    gave   as  his   reason,  that    he  had  recently 
208 


THAT  THURSDAY — THE  START.         209 

heard  Mr.  Armour  tell  Mr.  Long  that  it  was 
well  worth  the  long  walk  required  to  see  it. 
James,  with  supreme  indifference,  allowed,  he 
didn't  "care  a  snap  "  where  they  might  go,  or 
what  they  might  do,  so  long  as  they  should  go 
somewhere,  and  have  a  good  time.  Finally  all 
agreed  to  the  inevitable,  and  concluded  they 
would  just  wait  and  see.  For  not  a  boy 
thought  it  would  be  of  the  least  use  to  ask  Mr. 
Armour  as  to  his  intentions. 

The  letter-carrier  for  the  Northville  District 
left  at  each  boy's  house,  on  Tuesday,  a  postal- 
card  on  which  was  written  the  following  note : 

"  MY  YOUNG  FRIEND, — What  time  I  spend 
with  you  can  not  all  be  given  to  play.  I  have  some 
work  for  you.  Meet  me  at  Mr.  Long's  to-morrow, 
at  four  o'clock,  sharp. 

"HERBERT  ARMOUR." 

Not  a  boy  was  missing  when  the  lieutenant 
laughingly  called  the  roll,  five  minutes  before 
the  hour  appointed.  When  Mr.  Armour  ap- 
peared, all  were  ready  to  obey  the  order  to  "  fall 
in  "  except  James,  who,  in  responsive  eagerness, 
fell  out  in  his  usual  maladroit  way.  They 
were  led  around  onto  Cedar  Street,  and  halted 
beside  a  cord  of  wood,  sawed  and  split,  which 
had  been  dumped  on  the  sidewalk  in  front  of 

the  little  cottage,  the  house  of  Mr.  Alfred  Brown, 

18 


2IO  ROCKTON. 

who,  as  before  related,  was  badly  disabled  by 
a  fall.  Having  shown  the  boys  the  wood, 
Mr.  Armour  led  them  through  the  little  yard 
into  the  ell  of  the  cottage,  which  was  partly 
used  as  a  shed.  Here  they  found  little  Mamie 
Brown  who  looked  at  them  fearlessly  out  of  her 
blue  eyes.  This  may  be  largely  due  to  the 
fact  that  Mr.  Armour,  instantly  had  her  in  his 
arms. 

"  What  is  this  midget  of  mine  doing  here, 
all  alone?"  he  asked. 

"  Havin'  a  pitnit,"  replied  the  mite,  and 
nodded  her  head  knowingly. 

"  Are  you  having  a  good  time?'  asked 
Adolphus. 

"  Yeth,"  she  lisped. 

"  What  did  you  have  to  eat?"  inquired  Ben- 
jamin, true  to  his  instincts. 

"O  sumfin'  nice,"  and  she  smacked  her  bits 
of  lips,  and  asked  in  return : 

"  Dont  'oo  with  'oo  had  thum  too?" 

"You  be  kind  enough  to  tell  us  what  you 
had,  Mamie,  and  then  we  will  know  what  a 
treat  we  have  missed,"  said  Mr.  Armour. 

The  midget  looked  at  him  gravely  for  a  mo- 
ment, and  then  answered  reflectively  as  if  call- 
ing up  one  by  one  the  various  dainties  on  which 
she  had  feasted : 

"  O,  I    had    beddy — an'  butty — an'  puddy." 


THAT  THURSDAY— THE  START.          211 

And  then  to  make  sure  that  her  auditors  should 
not  think  that  she  had  been  indulging  in  an  al- 
together Barmecide  feast,  she  added :  "  But  I 
didn't  have  any  butty  or  any  puddy!" 

This  "brought  down  the  house"  with  such 
a  roar,  that  she  slipped  down  and  out  of  Mr. 
Armour's  arms,  and  whisked  into  the  house 
leaving  him  to  show  the  boys  where  the  wood 
was  to  be  neatly  piled,  and  to  bid  them  strip  off 
their  jackets  and  be  about  it.  Of  course  he  did 
not  stop  to  watch  them;  he  had  other  business. 
Nothing  was  said  by  any  of  the  boys  about  the 
morrow  (and  this  was  a  marvelous  self-re- 
straint) except  that  Adolphus,  in  as  unconcerned 
a  manner  as  he  could  possibly  assume,  asked 
just  before  he  left  them,  what  he  thought  the 
weather  might  be. 

The  corners  of  the  tall  man's  mouth  twitched 
suspiciously  under  his  big  mustache,  but  he 
answered  in  a  tone  of  great  indifference: 

"  I  do  n't  think  it  will  storm  very  hard  the 
next  twenty-four  hours."  And  Adolphus  "dug 
into  the  wood-pile.  The  wood  went  in  in  a  hurry. 
Three  lugged  and  two  piled,  and  they  changed 
about  to  equalize  the  work,  until  the  job  was 
done.  Moreover  it  was  neatly  done. 

Wee  Mamie  came  out  of  hiding,  and  danced 
around  to  see  the  fun.  When  the  last  arinfnl 
was  piled  up,  and  jackets  were  on  again,  and 


212  ROCKTON. 

the  boys  were  going  out  of  the  yard  she  stood 
in  the  doorway  and  piped  after  them : 

"Thank  'oo!  'Go's  dood  boys.  Thum  time 
'oo  may  turn  to  my  pitnit !" 

Perhaps  some  may  think  that  Wednesday  is 
rather  an  early  start  for  a  tramp  on  Thursday  ; 
but  it  is  in  harmony  with  the  advice  given  to 
his  sons  by  a  very  old  man  who  had  been  no- 
torious for  being  behindhand  all  his  days : 

"  Boys,  if  you  set  a  day  to  go  anywhere,  be 
sure  and  start  the  day  before  !" 

Doubtless  this  indirect  start  helped  Thurs- 
day's doings.  If  our  boys  had  not  done  Wednes- 
day afternoon's  work  they  might  have  been 
awake  nearly  all  the  night  thinking  of  the  next 
day.  As  it  was,  they  got  a  little  tired,  slept 
soundly,  and  woke  up  Thursday  morning  in 
proper  season  and  "fresh  as  larks." 

Long  before  eight  o'clock  there  was  a  sweet 
jargon  of  voices  in  Mr.  Holt's  big  barn.  Mr. 
Armour  could  not  be  far  away,  for  Joseph  us 
had  usurped  old  Charley's  place  in  the  roomy 
box-stall.  Edward  insisted  that  his  father  had 
given  orders  to  this  effect.  All  the  boys  thought 
they  were  quite  ready  for  the  start.  Each  had 
brought  his  luncheon,  neatly  wrapped,  which 
Miss  Sarah  had  marked  with  his  name,  and 
carried  into  the  house.  In  their  eagerness  this 
was  forgotten.  But  they  had  a  special  inspec- 


THAT  THURSDAY— THE  START.          213 

tion  to  undergo.  This  was  by  Miss  Barber, 
who  declared  that  she  "  could  not  resist  the  temp- 
tation to  see  the  boys  in  their  new  toggery," 
and  had  taken  an  early  start,  intending,  of  course, 
after  The  Quintet  was  gone,  to  coax  Miss  Sarah 
to  accompany  her  in  her  school  visitation  at  the 
Center.  The  promise  to  decorate  the  suits  had 
been  kept,  and  lilies,  stars,  and  bands  were  con- 
spicuously displayed. 

Shortly  before  eight  o'clock  Mr.  Armour 
came  out  of  the  house.  He  had  a  bundle  of — 
well — something,  carefully  wrapped  and  bound 
with  straps  in  such  a  way  as  to  leave  a  long 
loop  for  carrying  it.  He  also  had  another 
something,  which  appeared  to  be  about  ten 
inches  square  and  one  and  a  half  inches  thick — 
that  is,  if  a  thing  can  appear  which  does  not 
appear  at  all — for  this  something  was  entirely 
covered  with  an  enameled  cloth  case.  He  had 
still  another  something,  in  a  stiff  leather  case, 
the  form  of  which  was  so  suggestive  that  Ber- 
nard Walters  at  once  said  : 

"  It's  a  baby  ax." 

Mr.  Armour  called  him  a  bright  boy,  and 
said  : 

"  Your  great  power  of  discernment  shall  be 
rewarded.  Unbuckle  your  belt,  pass  it  through 
these  loops,  and  buckle  it  on  again.  You  shall 
be  hatchet-bearer  for  the  company."  He  then 


214  ROCK-TON. 

directed  Edward  to  fasten  the  square  case  to  his 
belt  in  the  same  manner,  which  he  did,  hand- 
ling it  the  while  with  a  puzzled,  questioning 
look  on  his  face.  He  was  told  he  need  not 
push  his  investigations  any  further,  as  he  would 
be  taught  its  use  in  due  time.  What  the  first 
bundle,  so  long  and  large  around,  contained,  was 
a  matter  of  profound  speculation.  Each  offered 
to  carry  it,  but  Mr.  Armour  said  it  was  his  share 
of  the  "  traps." 

By  the  time  these  arrangements  had  been 
made,  Miss  Sarah  appeared  on  the  scene,  and 
not  empty-handed,  for  she  was  dangling  five 
enameled  cloth  pouches  or  wallets — something 
like  soldiers'  haversacks,  but  on  a  smaller  scale. 
These,  she  said,  held  the  luncheons,  small  tin 
dippers,  and  old  newspapers,  and  gave  one  to 
each  boy.  How  to  get  them  properly  on  was 
the  next  thing  to  be  settled.  They  were  for  slip- 
ping the  strap  of  the  wallet  over  the  head  and 
across  one  shoulder,  and  let  it  hang  by  the 
side.  But  Mr.  Armour  stopped  them,  and  said : 
"  There  is  a  better  way.  Each  strap  has  a 
buckle  so  the  loop  can  be  adjusted  to  suit  the 
wearer."  He  then  showed  them  how  to  put 
both  head  and  arms  through  the  loop,  thus 
bringing  the  strap  across  the  back  and  under 
the  arms  with  the  wallet  in  front.  Then,  by 
passing  the  wallet  backwards  over  the  head,  it 


THAT  THURSDAY— THE  START.         215 

was  made  to  rest  on  the  shoulders  somewhat 
like  a  soldier's  knapsack,  only  it  was  higher  up. 
This  made  it  more  easy  to  carry,  while  the  strap 
at  the  same  time  would  act  as  a  shoulder-brace. 

When  each  had  his  wallet  in  place,  it  was 
discovered  that  on  the  lap  of  each  had  been 
painted  the  letters  J.  Q.,  while  at  the  bottom,  in 
much  smaller  letters,  were  the  initials  of  the 
wearer.  Mr.  Armour  stared,  and — for  truth 
must  be  told — whistled.  Miss  Holt  laughed, 
and  explained  that  when  he  brought  them  along 
with  the  suits,  and  put  them  in  her  care,  it  oc- 
curred to  her  that  something  of  the  sort  might 
be  done  to  give  a  finished  look  to  the  equip- 
ment, and  under  this  impulse  she  had  painted 
the  letters.  She  further  explained: 

"I  thought  the  words  'Jolly  Quintet '  would 
be  too  much  of  a  good  thing.  I  tried  one  with 
the  initials,  'J.  Q.,'  and  it  pleased  my  fancy. 
We  have  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.'s,  the  W.  C.  T.  U.'s,  the 
I.  O.  O.  F.'s,  and  the  G.  A.  R.'s,  and  why  not 
the  J.  Q.'s  ?  It  will  be  short  and  slightly  mys- 
terious to  the  uninitiated. 

"  Hurrah  for  the  '  J.  Q.'s  !'  "  shouted  Ben- 
jamin, while  Miss  Barber  flourished  her  hand- 
kerchief, and  declared  she  had  always  wished 
s^e  was  a  boy,  so  she  could  make  all  the  noise 
she  liked. 

Mr.  Armour  tapped  the    bulging   pockets  ot 


2l6  ROCKTON. 

his  sack-coat,  said  he  guessed  nothing  had  been 
forgotten,  threw  the  strap  of  the  mysterious 
bundle  over  his  shoulder,  and  led  the  boys  out  of 
the  barn  and  down  the  steep  street  on  which  it 
faced.  When  they  reached  the  road  which  runs 
from  Northville  around  the  west  end  of  the 
ridge,  they  followed  it  to  where  it  intersects  an- 
other road,  which  comes  up  from  Rockton  Center. 
Here  Mr.  Armour  called  a  halt,  and  said : 
"We'll  wait  for  the  Plainfield  stage." 
Plainfield  is  a  fairly  thriving  agricultural 
town,  the  principal  village  of  which  is  six  miles 
north  of  Rockton  Center,  and,  of  course,  just  so 
far  away  from  the  railroad.  Every  week-day 
morning  a  stage  comes  down  with  the  mail  to 
meet  the  early  trains  east  and  west  at  Rockton, 
and  returns  at  about  eight  o'clock.  Not  a  boy, 
probably,  could  have  been  found  in  Rockton 
over  seven  years  of  age,  who  had  not  often  seen 
this  well-preserved  relic  of  by-gone  days  and 
ways ;  yet  it  is  quite  safe  to  say  that  the  J.  Q.'s 
did  not  possess  a  member  who  could  boast  that 
he  had  enjoyed  a  ride  in  it.  Would  n't  it  be  a 
treat?  Even  staid  Adolphus  threw  up  his  hat 
in  great  glee.  When  it  came  click-clacking,  see- 
sawing along  behind  a  pair  of  big  fat  horses,  it 
had  only  one  passenger — a  nice,  motherly-look- 
ing old  lady,  who  was  on  her  way  to  Plainfield 
to  visit  a  married  daughter,  as  she  told  Mr.  Ar- 


THAT  THURSDAY— THE  START.        217 

mour  within  a  very  few  minutes.  All  the  boys 
wished  to  ride  on  the  seat  with  the  driver — an 
evident  impossibility.  As  there  was  a  seat  still 
higher  up,  Mr.  White  (why  have  there  been  so 
many  stage-drivers  of  this  name?)  soon  had  four 
boys  wedged  into  that,  and  Lieutenant  Adolphus 
beside  himself,  on  the  box.  Meanwhile  Mr. 
Armour  had  stowed  himself  inside  with  the 
aforesaid  nice  old  lady — "for  ballast,"  he  said — 
and,  as  above  indicated,  in  ten  minutes  had  a 
good  part  of  her  family  history. 

The  boys  had  a  merry  time.  The  venerable 
stage-coach  clicked -clacked  and  see -sawed 
with  rhythmic  alliteration.  The  fat  horses 
switched  their  tails,  and  jogged  along  as  though 
they  had  nothing  else  to  do  but  jog,  switch  flies, 
and  listen  to  half-grown  human  nonsense. 

Mr.  White  was  a  little  chunk  of  a  man, 
with  merrily  twinkling  eyes  under  shaggy  and 
grizzly  eyebrows,  very  red  cheeks,  and  a  fringe 
of  white  whiskers  under  his  chin.  Not  only 
was  he  a  little  man,  but  he  managed  to  say 
"  leetle  "  at  almost  every  breath.  He  was  just 
a  "leetle  "  late  that  morning  because  he  had  a 
"leetle"  more  errands  than  usual  to  do.  It 
was  just  a  "  leetle  "  warm,  the  road  was  a"  leetle" 
sandy,  and  a  "  leetle  "  more  hilly  going  up  than 
coming  down  ;  the  pesky  flies  were  a  "  leetle  " 
bothersome,  the  "  critters  "  were  just  a  "  leetle  " 

19 


2l8  ROCKTON. 

lazy  ;  he  had  a  "leetle"  larger  load  than  usual, 
and  he  guessed  he  had  better  "  go  a  leetle  slow," 
and  let  them  enjoy  the  ride,  as  the  morning 
was  a  "leetle"  nice;  and,  besides,  he  liked  to 
have  "  leetle  men  "  ride  with  him.  If  he  had 
said  "  leetle  boys  "  every  mother's  son  of  the  J.  Q.'s 
would  have  been  indignant;  but  as  he  qual- 
ified the  "  leetle"  with  the  big-sounding  little 
word  men,  every  one  felt  honored — an  excusa- 
ble weakness  not  altogether  confined  to  boys. 

The  morning  was,  as  Mr.  White  said,  a 
"  leetle  nice."  It  was  not  too  hot,  neither  was 
it  a. bit  chilly  for  the  boys  on  their  high,  swaying 
seat.  A  few  fleecy  clouds,  snow-white  in  the 
sunshine,  were  tokens  of  a  fair  day  with  light 
winds.  This  road  to  Plainfield  has  but  a  few 
houses.  The  face  of  the  country  through  which 
it  runs  is  hilly,  and  shows,  to  the  eye,  great 
stretches  of  woods.  As  the  coach,  with  its 
merry  load,  lumbered  slowly  along,  squirrels  on 
either  side  barked  at  it  as  an  intruder.  Here 
and  there  a  rabbit  started  up  by  the  roadside, 
hopped  along  before  the  jogging  horses  for  a  few 
rods,  and  then,  with  a  parting  flirt  of  its  stumpy 
tail,  disappeared  in  the  underbrush.  All  was 
delightful. 

Mr.  White  not  only  was  humorous,  he  was 
equally  inquisitive.  All  stage-drivers  appear  to 
be  relatives  of  the  celebrated  Paul  Pry.  He 


T//.47  THURSDAY— THE  START.         219 

asked  the  boys  if  they  were  "young  sailors," 
and  when  Edward  gravely  told  him  they  were 
The  Northville  J.  Q.'s,  the  astonished  and  puz- 
zled oddity  ejaculated, 

"ShoM    Du  tell!" 

Adolphus  undertook  to  enlighten  him  more 
fully,  and  gave  a  sketch  of  the  very  short  his- 
tory of  The  Quintet,  every  point  of  which  was 
greeted  with  an  incredulous  "  sho ' !  " 

When  they  had  ridden  some  three  miles,  and 
Ijad  come  where  a  road  branched  to  the  east, 
Mr.  Armour  called  to  the  driver  to  stop.  The 
boys  were  a  little  surprised  ;  but  as  he  got  out, 
there  was  nothing  for  them  to  do  but  get  down. 
When  it  came  to  settling  with  Mr.  White,  that 
worthy's  eyes  twinkled  faster  than  ever.  He  said 
he  was  a  "  leetle "  inclined  to  think  that  the 
honor  of  driving  for  the  J.  Q.'s  on  their  first 
ride  together  was  quite  enough  pay.  If  Mr. 
Armour  wanted  very  badly  to  pay  a  "  leetle 
something"  for  himself,  he  might  pass  him  up  a 
quarter,  but  that  was  every  cent  he  would  take. 
Mr.  Armour  began  to  reason  with  him,  but  was 
cut  short  with  : 

"  Do  n't  you  worry.  They  haven't  rid  but  a 
leetle  ways.  If  I  ain  satisfied,  and  the  cattle 
don't  object,  you  needn't  complain." 

So  Mr.  Armour  passed  up  his  quarter.  The 
boys  stood  in  line,  and  taking  off  their  hats,  gave 


220  ROCKTON. 

generous  driver  White  a  cheer.  He  cracked  his 
whip,  sang  out,  "Git  up,  there!"  the  old  lady 
stuck  her  head  out,  shook  her  handkerchief,  and 
said,  "Good-bye,"  and  the  coach  went  click- 
clacking  and  see-sawing  away  at  its  usual  speed. 
Every  boy  looked  at  Mr.  Armour.  Every  face 
asked,  "What  next?"  "Now,  my  young  heroes, 
we  've  got  to  '  frog  it,'  "  he  said,  and  led  the  way 
down  the  road  to  the  east.  This  proved  to  be  a 
cross-road,  and  but  little  used.  When  Adolphus 
asked  where  it  led,  he  was  told  that  it  runs  across 
the  country  for  several  miles  until  it  intersects 
the  county  road  leading  north,  and  that  they 
were  to  follow  it  about  a  mile  and  a  quarter. 
After  which  they  might  expect  the  fun  to  begin. 
Just  as  though  it  had  not  been  fun  every  mo- 
ment since  the  start !  How  they  shouted ! 
What  races  they  ran  !  Mr.  Armour  had  to  exert 
himself  to  be  even  the  tail  of  the  procession. 

As  they  climbed  quite  a  hill  and  saw  that  the 
road  dropped  down  into  a  valley  beyond,  Ben- 
jamin was  for  stopping  awhile  to  dispose  of  his 
lunch,  but  the  rest  were  eager  to  get  on.  Mr. 
Armour  called  all  the  boys  about  him,  and  asked 
if  any  qne  would  lend  him  a  jackknife.  Ed- 
ward had  left  his  at  home.  So  had  James,  who 
said  the  old  thing  was  n.  g.,  for  he  had  broken 
the  blade  trying  to  bore  a  hole  in  a  board. 
Adolphus  had  a  penknife  which  he  offered  for 


THAT  THURSDAY — THE  START.         221 

use,  but  declared  the  blades  were  pewter. 
Bernard  had  one,  but  he  "  guessed  "  it  would  n't 
cut — and  he  guessed  correctly. 

When  it  was  clearly  proven  that  the  J.  Q.'s 
were  really  bankrupt  in  cutlery,  Mr.  Armour  fished 
in  his  pockets  and  brought  out  for  each  boy  a 
new  knife — a  good -sized,  single-bladed  jack- 
knife — and  said  this  was  Mr.  Long's  contribu- 
tion towards  their  equipment.  After  a  little 
time  had  been  spent  in  admiring  the  knives, 
and  they  had  been  found  to  be  properly  ground, 
and  ready  for  use,  they  were  told  they  were  quite 
near  the  end  of  their  walk,  as  they  were  to  stop 
at  the  first  house.  Down  the  hill  they  went  and 
into  the  valley,  and,  at  the  same  time,  out  of  the 
woods  and  into  a  clearing,  on  the  farther  side  of 
which  stood  a  house.  As  he  led  them  into  its 
grass-grown  yard,  Mr.  Armour  said:  "In  a  few 
moments  more  my  little  secret  will  be  out." 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  GREAT  SECRET  OUT. 


[THE  boys  looked  around  in  silent  per- 
plexity. If  they  were  within  a  few 
moments  of  the  secret  which  for  days  had 
tantalized  them,  where  was  it?  and  what  was 
it?  Had  Mr.  Armour  been  playing  a  prac- 
•A-tical  joke?  Hardly  probable.  But  what 
then?  And  each  boy  looked  blankly  at  his 
mates.  So  far  as  could  be  seen,  there  was  but 
small  chance  for  any  adventure.  Several  things 
they  did  see.  There  was  an  old  one-story  cot- 
tage-house standing  broadside  to  the  road,  and 
half-hidden  by  a  tangled  growth  of  trees  and 
shrubbery.  Beyond  this  house,  and  partly  be- 
hind it,  wras  an  old  barn  with  its  gable  end 
towards  the  road  ;  its  "  shaky"  appearance  giv- 
ing the  impression  that  it  had  seriously  made 
up  its  mind  to  a  general  collapse,  and  was 
only  waiting  a  favorable  moment  for  the  ca- 
tastrophe. On  the  south  side  of  this  barn  was 
a  large  cow-yard  surrounded  by  a  high  stone 

222 


THE  GREAT  SECRET  Our.  223 

wall  of  such  an  unusual  thickness  and  so  solidly 
built  as,  at  the  first  sight,  to  force  the  humorous 
conviction  that,  no  matter  what  other  things 
tumbled,  it  would  stand  forever.  At  the  corner 
of  this  wall  was  a  well  with  mossy  curb,  and  an 
old-fashioned  well-sweep.  Everything — house, 
barn,  well,  and  a  dilapidated  carriage  of  a  non- 
descript pattern  that  might  have  come  out  of  the 
Ark — everything  in  sight  at  least,  was  guiltless  of 
paint.  If  anything  about  the  premises  had  ever 
known  a  moment  when  it  was  new,  at  that 
precise  moment  it  left  off  being  so,  and  went 
about  growing  old  and  weatherbeaten  just  as 
fast  as  it  could. 

As  Mr.  Armour  and  the  boys  walked  noise- 
lessly over  the  grass  towards  the  barn,  not  an- 
other human  being  was  in  sight.  A  fine  calf 
tied  to  a  stake,  and  a  few  sedate  hens,  appeared 
to  hold  entire  possession.  In  a  field  beyond 
was  a  cow  and  a  few  more  hens.  Pausing  for  a 
moment,  they  heard  a  faint,  scratching  sound, 
coming  from  a  shed  in  the  rear  of  the  house. 
When  they  looked  in  at  the  wide  door  of  this 
shed,  they  saw  a  very  short,  very  fat  old  man,  who 
must  have  been  at  great  pains  to  get  himself 
into  many  clothes  of  a  faded  brown  color;  for 
he  was  literally  bundled  up  in  them.  His  felt 
hat  had  its  broad  brim  turned  down  all  around, 
leaving  only  the  tip  of  his  nose  and  the  lower 


224  ROCKTON. 

part  of  his  stubby-bearded  face  in  sight.  He 
was  sawing  wood ;  but  the  saw  was  moving  so 
slow  that  Edward  told  Adolphus,  in  an  aside, 
that  he  believed  he  would  n't  get  the  stick  he 
had  on  the  horse  sawed  in  an  hour.  This  old 
oddity  paid  no  attention  to  Mr.  Armour  or  the 
boys,  but  slowly  pushed  the  saw,  helping  it 
along  by  an  occasional  grunt.  The  balance  of 
the  time  he  evidently  was  talking  to  himself, 
but  all  that  could  be  heard  was,  "Mum-m-mum- 
m-m-inum."  When  Mr.  Armour  spoke  to  him 
he  did  not  even  lift  his  eyes,  but  scratched, 
grunted,  and  mumbled  as  before.  As  they  turned 
from  the  shed,  Bernard  roguishly  told  Mr.  Armour 
that  his  "  secret"  evidently  did  n't  intend  to  give 
him  away.  But  they  were  to  be  more  successful 
with  their  next  discovery. 

As  they  went  towards  the  barn,  a  little  dried- 
up  specimen  of  humanity  came  out  of  it,  and  in 
a  thin,  squeaking  voice,  gave  them  greeting. 

"  H-how  dy-d-doo  !  B-be-ben  'spectin'  ye  'd 
b-be  a-l-long." 

He  was  nearly  as  odd-looking  as  the  over- 
dressed unintelligibility  in  the  shed.  He  must 
have  been  between  sixty  and  seventy  years  old, 
and  was  not  taller  than  Adolphus.  He  was  also 
narrow-chested  and  round-shouldered,  and 
pinched  and  shrunken  in  appearance  as  if  he 
had  been  kiln-dried,  and  all  fat  and  moisture 


THE  GREAT  SECRET  OUT.  225 

evaporated.  He  was  dressed  in  a  cotton  shirt 
and  blue  overalls.  The  bottoms  of  the  latter 
were  tucked  in  his  boots.  All  his  scanty  cloth- 
ing was  noticeably  clean.  His  straw  hat  was 
turned  up  behind  and  down  before.  Out  of  the 
weazened  face,  under  it,  blinked  a  pair  of  very 
light-blue  eyes,  which  were  held  apart  by  a 
long,  peaked  nose,  which  overhung  a  little, 
puckered-up  mouth.  His  scanty,  white  beard 
must  have  been  untrimmed  for  years.  As  al- 
ready observed,  he  had  a  squeaking  voice.  Be- 
sides this,  he  stuttered  convulsively,  and  had  a 
habit  of  what  might  be  called  dry-spitting,  some 
two  or  three  times  in  almost  every  sentence. 
Later  on,  in  the  day,  he  told  the  boys  some- 
thing of  himself.  How  he  was  "  b-borned  "  in 
the  old  house  which  his  father  built  when  a 
young  man  ;  how,  after  he  was  "  out "  of  his 
"time,"  he.  worked  for  years  as  a  "h-hossler" 
in  the  vicinity  of  "B-Bosting;"  how  he  got 
kicked  by  a  "  p-p-pesky  hoss,  and  1-like  ter 
b-ben  killed,"  and  was  a  long  time  getting 
round;  how  his  father  sent  for  him  to  come 
home,  and  how,  as  he  was  very  old,  and  his 
brother  was  not  "  v-very  sus-sus-sosher-b-bul," 
the  old  gentleman  gave  him  the  farm  to  stay  and 
take  care  of  them.  When  questioned  as  to  the 
extent  of  this  gift, .he  said  he  owned  "  b-b-bout 
t-t-two  hun-hundred  a-acres,"  the  larger  part 


226  ROCKTON. 

of  which  was  woodland.  Mr.  Armour  after- 
wards told  the  boys  that  the  father  of  these  odd- 
ities had  been  dead  for  years,  and  that  they 
had  continued  to  live  together  since  that  event, 
doing  their  own  house-work,  and  grubbing  along 
in  a  fashion  entirely  their  own.  But  all  this 
must  be  understood  as  information  in  advance. 

In  reply  to  the  stuttered  and  expectorated 
salutation  of  the  little  proprietor  of  the  estab- 
lishment, Mr.  Armour  said : 

"  Glad  to  see  you  this  morning,  Mr.  Blake. 
I  suppose  you  have  all  things  ready  for  us?" 

"  Y-yes,  sir,"  he  answered,  and  going  into 
the  barn  he  brought  out  three  paddles  which 
were  evidently  "home-made,"  having  been 
roughly  fashioned  out  of  pieces  of  boards. 
Throwing  these  down  he  went  back  and  brought 
out  two  old  tin  dishes,  and  said  : 

"  Th-tho't  I-I  m-m-might  as  w-well  p-put 
th-ther  b-bait  in  t-t-two  d-dishes,  s-so  th-there  'd 
b-be  one  in  e-each  en-en-end  of  th-the  b-b-boat." 

"  Crickey,  boys!  It's  fishing!"  squealed 
Benjamin,  and  jumped  up  and  down  in  his 
delight. 

The  secret  was  out.  Fishing  it  was  to  be. 
But  where  was  the  water  ?  Not  one  of  the 
sharp-eyed  J.  Q.'s  had  seen  pond  or  river.  Mr. 
Armour  told  them  that  as  the  road  did  not  run 
over  the  top  of  the  hill,  they  had  not  been  able 


THE  GREAT  SECRET  OUT.  227 

to  see  all  there  was  in  the  valley,  and  directing 
three  of  the  boys  to  carry  the  paddles,  and  the 
other  two  the  dishes  of  bait,  he  led  them  around 
the  barn  and  into  the  pasture.  Briskly  walking, 
in  a  few  moments  they  had  crossed  it,  and  were 
in  the  woods  and  following  a  cart-path,  which 
wound  its  way  downward  through  the  pines. 
Before  Edward  could  ask  how  much  farther  they 
would  have  to  go,  Bernard,  who  had  challenged 
Benjamin  to  race,  and  had  darted  on  ahead, 
cried  out,  "Here  it  is!" 

Sure  enough !  There  it  was.  They  had 
come  to  the  shore  of  a  pond  large  enough  to  be 
called  a  lake,  if  it  had  graced  some  localities. 
Though  the  trees  grew  almost  to  the  water's 
edge  on  the  side  where  they  stood,  there  was 
but  little  underbrush ;  and  there  was  a  little  strip 
of  gravelly  beach,  with  a  broad,  flat-bottomed 
boat  drawn  upon  it,  which  Edward  forthwith 
declared  to  be  "  a  scow." 

The  boys  instantly  piled  their  traps  on  a 
great  flat  rock,  but  Mr.  Armour  took  the  hatchet 
from  its  case,  and  struck  off  a  part  of  two  or 
three  branches  of  a  tree,  and  hung  the  wallets 
on  the  pegs  which  remained,  thus  "  keeping 
them  out  of  the  way  of  ants,"  he  said:  "  Which 
would  not  hesitate  to  begin  a  feast  on  their  con- 
tents without  the  formality  of  asking  per- 
mission." 


228  ROCKTON. 

By  this  time  Bernard  was  ready  with  the 
suggestion  that  if  they  were  to  catch  fish  it 
would  be  wise,  as  well  as  necessary,  to  cut  some 
poles.  This  caused  Benjamin's  chin  to  drop, 
and  he  cried  out  in  great  consternation:  "O, 
Mr.  Armour,  why  did  n't  you  tell  us  we  were 
coming  a  fishing,  and  then  we  could  have 
brought  some  hooks  and  lines?" 

"  Too  bad,  is  n't  it,  my  boy  ?"  Mr.  Armour 
affirmed,  and  interrogated  in  reply,  and  then 
busied  himself  in  unstrapping  the  mysterious 
bundle  he  had  claimed  as  his  share  of  "the 
traps."  When  it  was  unrolled  the  sight  of 
half  a  dozen  jointed  fishing-rods  set  the  boys  off 
in  a  fusilade  of  rapturous  exclamations.  Mr. 
Armour  explained  that  he  had  a  friend  whose 
business  it  was  to  make  fishing-rods,  and  that  he 
had  selected  a  lot  of  fine  canes,  and  had  quite  a 
number  of  rods  made  up  to  his  liking,  thinking 
they  might  come  handy  when  he  went  fishing 
with  his  friends. 

"These,"  he  said,  "were  made  expressly  for 
fishing  for  small  fish  from  a  boat." 

He  then  opened  the  enameled  cloth  case 
which  Edward  had  brought,  and  took  out  .of  it 
a  square  sheet-iron  pan.  This  had  a  piece  of 
board  fitted  into  it  like  a  cover,  which,  when  it 
was  lifted,  revealed  plenty  of  lines  wound  on 
reels.  Each  boy  was  quickly  supplied,  and  the 


THE  GREAT  SECRET  OUT.  229 

work  of  "  rigging  up  "  began.  The  rods,  when 
jointed,  proved  to  be  "just  the  things  ;"  for  they 
were  light  and  tapering,  yet  strong,  and  nearly 
twelve  feet  in  length. 

Edward,  who  had  often  fished  with  his 
father,  went  around  helping  the  others  pass  the 
lines  through  the  tips  of  the  rods,  and  down 
through  the  rings,  and  fasten  them  at  the  butts. 
This  he  did  until  all  were  in  proper  order ;  and 
then  he  coolly  turned  his  attention  to  his  own 
preparations,  as  if  this  was  the  last  thing  to  do. 

Mr.  Armour  looked  at  him  with  a  smile,  and 
the  note  his  eyes  made  was  something  like  this: 
"  What  a  kind,  unselfish  boy  this  is  getting  to 
be  !"  What  he  said  was  : 

"  Edward,  if  the  last  is  to  be  first,  you  will 
catch  the  first  fish." 

Just  then  Mr.  Blake — he,  with  the  impedi- 
ment— came  down  to  tell  them  there  were  two 
stones  tied  to  ropes  to  be  used  as  anchors ;  and  to 
make  his  assertion  good,  dragged  them  out  of  their 
hiding-place.  One  of  these  was  placed  in  each 
end  of  the  boat,  which  was  shoved  off  in  read- 
iness for  its  cargo  of  boys.  Adolphus  was  sent 
to  the  further  end,  Benjamin  to  the  thwart  next 
to  him;  Edward  and  James  took  seats  on  the 
middle  thwart;  next  came  Bernard,  while  Mr. 
Armour  stood  at  the  end  resting  on  the  shoic. 
Before  he  shoved  the  boat  off,  he  asked  Mr. 


230  ROCKTON. 

Blake  if  he  had  any  objections  to  their  building 
a  fire  to  cook  their  dinner,  provided  they  were 
careful ;  to  which  that  good-humored  specimen 
of  dessicated  humanity,  replied  : 

"  I-I  d-do  n't  care,  s-so-so  long's  y-you 
d-do  n't  s-s-set  th-the  p-p- pesky  p-pond 
a-a-fi-fi-fire." 

This,  no  one  having  the  least  desire  to  do, 
Mr.  Armour  shoved  off  the  boat,  at  the  same 
time  stepped  in  and  seated  himself,  and  with 
one  of  the  clumsy  paddles  sent  the  unwieldy 
craft  on  its  way.  Every  boy  offered  to  paddle  ; 
but  he  told  them  they  had  but  a  short  distance 
to  go,  and  all  they  need  do  would  be  to  sit  still  and 
keep  the  boat  level.  This  pond,  be  it  known, 
is  pear-shaped,  and  they  were  at  the  small  or 
narrow  end.  As  Mr.  Armour,  without  changing 
his  position,  paddled  the  boat  straight  for  the 
other  side,  the  boys  wondered  how  he  could  do 
it  so  skillfully.  Adolphus  said  that  when  he 
tried  to  paddle  a  boat  he  had  to  shift  his  paddle 
from  side  to  side  or  the  boat  went  "round  and 
round."  Mr.  Armour  told  them  it  was  simple 
enough  when  understood,  and  that  when  a  boy 
he  had  been  fortunate  enough  to  own  a  birch 
canoe,  and  had  learned  to  use  the  paddle  when 
navigating  it.  By  the  time  Edward  had  shown 
James  and  Benjamin  how  to  bait  their  hooks, 
the  boat  had  very  nearly  reached  the  lily-pads 


THE  GREAT  SECRET  OUT.  231 

on  the  north  side  of  the  pond,  and  Mr.  Armour 
directed  Adolphus  to  be  ready  with  the  anchor 
at  his  end.  A  few  strong  strokes  of  the  paddle 
placed  the  boat  opposite  a  little  cove. 

u  Down  with  your  killick  !  Easy  !"  he  said, 
at  the  same  time  letting  the  stone  at  his  end 
slip  noislessly  into  the  water. 

"  Do  n't  allow  much  slack  to  the  rope,  Adol- 
phus, and  tie  it  into  the  ring  in  the  end  of  the 
boat,"  was  the  next  direction.  When  the  boat 
was  anchored  "  fore  and  aft,"  the  command, 
"  Fish,"  was  needless.  All  were  ready.  No, 
not  quite  ;  for  Benjamin  wished  he  had  a  float 
so  he  "  could  know  when  the  fish  were  biting." 

Mr.  Armour  said : 

"  My  young  friend,  anybody  can  pull  in  a 
fish  that  is  well  hooked.  If  you  are  to  be  a 
fisherman  you  must  learn  to  catch  fish.  With 
these  light  rods  you  can  feel  the  slightest  nibble. 
You  must  learn  to  hook  the  fish  that  nibbles  by 
a  quick  motion  of  your  wrist,  and  then  without 
allowing  your  line  to  slack  you  can  pull  it  in. 
If  you  get  the  hang  of  this  kind  of  fishing,  you 
may  be  able  to  catch  trout  some  other  day." 

"  Is  this  a  good  day  for  fishing  ?"  asked 
Edward. 

"  A  fair  day  for  us,  I  think,  though  much  de- 
pends on  what  one  is  trying  to  catch,  and  some- 
thing on  the  place." 


232  ROCKTON. 

"  What  kind  of  fish  are  there  in  this  pond?" 
inquired  Adolphus. 

"  Several  kinds,"  was  the  reply,  "but  we  will 
try  for  but  one.  A  lowering  day  is  generally  sup- 
posed to  be  a  good  day  for  pickerel;  but  I  have 
caught  some  of  my  finest  strings  when  the  sun 
was  shining  brightly.  Bullheads  bite  best  on 
dark  days  or  at  night.  A  trout  is  really  a  night 
fish,  and  could  be  best  caught  then  if  one  could 
see  to  do  it.  I  never  had  much  difficulty  in  in- 
ducing perch  to  bite  on  bright  days.  I  came 
here  that  we  might  try  our  skill  in  catching 
them.  I  think  we  all  would  enjoy  a  fish  din- 
ner. I  have  eaten  almost  every  kind  of  fresh- 
water fish  in  these  parts.  When  perch  are  prop- 
erly killed,  dressed,  and  cooked,  they  are  to  me 
the  sweetest  of  all  fish.  Probably  most  people 
would  laugh  to  hear  me  say  it ;  but  I  think  you 
will  all  say  about  the  same  thing  before  one 
o'clock — that  is,  if  we  keep  still  and  fish." 

Adolphus  went  at  it  as  sedately  as  an  old 
man  forced  to  earn  his  living  by  fishing.  Ed- 
ward still  directed  James  and  Benjamin,  but 
managed  to  watch  his  own  line.  Mr.  Armour 
took  Bernard  in  charge,  and  soon  had  him  anx- 
iously waiting,  as  he  affirmed,  for  "  a  big  bite  " 
which  was  to  be  the  signal  for  him  to  "  pull  in 
a  whale."  Benjamin  squealed,  "I  've  got  one  !" 
and  jerked  his  line  hard  enough  to  have  pulled 


THE  GREAT  SECRET  OUT.  233 

the  head  off  an  ordinary  fish ;  but  nothing 
appeared  as  it  flew  in  the  air.  Edward  under- 
took to  show  him  how  to  manage  when  he  had 
a  bite.  Said  he  : 

"  You  just  pull  a  bit  when  the  fish  nibbles, 
and  if  you  hook  him,  then  " — and  he  "suited  the 
action  to  the  word  " — "  you  pull  him  in  like 
this  " — and  up  came  a  fine  perch,  quivering  in 
the  air,  and  scattering  drops  of  water  from  its 
scaly  sides. 

"O-o-o!"  "O-o-o!"  "O-o-o!"  exclaimed 
Benjamin,  James,  and  Bernard  in  interjectional 
concert,  while  Edward  coolly  proceeded  to  un- 
hook his  fish.  "Hold  on,  young  man  !"  said  Mr. 
Armour;  and  the  "young  man"  held  on,  but 
looked  up  wonderingly.  "  I  must  show  you 
how  to  kill  your  fish,"  he  continued,  and  mov- 
ing to  the  thwart  where  Bernard  sat,  he  took 
the  fish,  still  with  the  hook  in  its  mouth,  from 
Edward.  Holding  it  in  his  left  hand,  he  showed 
the  boys  an  open  jackknife  in  his  right.  The 
sharp  blade  of  this  he  passed  under  the  gills, 
and  through  the  head  of  the  perch.  "  You  see 
how  it  kills  the  fish  at  once,"  he  said.  "  Besides 
it  bleeds  it.  This  you  should  always  do,  for  at 
least  three  reasons :  First,  it  is  merciful ;  it 
puts  an  end  at  once  to  the  sti  iff  rings  of  the  fish  ; 
second,  it  prevents  its  flopping  around  un<Ki- 
foot  while  it  is  dying;  third,  the  fish  is  much 

20 


234  ROCKTON. 

better  for  eating.  If  Mr.  Blake  should  have  an 
ox  manage  to  get  into  this  pond  and  drown,  no- 
body would  think  the  beef  fit  to  eat.  When  a 
fish  is  taken  out  of  the  water,  and  allowed  to 
die  in  the  air  it  simply  drowns ;  yet  most  people 
treat  the  fish  they  catch  in  this  way.  Remember, 
if  you  wish  fish  fit  to  eat,  always  kill  them  the 
first  thing  you  do  after  catching  them." 

He  then  showed  them  how  to  place  their 
knives  to  have  them  handy,  and  yet  where  they 
would  not  inadvertently  cut  themselves. 

The  fishing  went  on  famously.  Each  boy  af- 
firmed he  had  "caught  on  "  to  the  way  of  doing 
it,  and  sundry  perch  well  "  caught  on  "  his  hook 
were  the  triumphant  evidence  thereof.  Edward 
still  helped  his  mates,  and  fished  for  himself 
with  gratifying  results,  while  Mr.  Armour  sel- 
dom drew  up  his  line  without  a  perch  to  show 
for  the  exertion.  Adolphus,  admiringly  said  to 
him  :  "  It  makes  no  difference  where  you  drop 
your  hook,  the  fish  seem  to  be  in  a  hurry  to 
have  you  catch  them."  As  for  himself,  as  with 
justifiable  pride  he  swung  in  "  the  biggest  yet," 
he  declared,  "  I  am  having  all  the  fun  I  want." 
"  The  man  or  boy  is  to  be  pitied  who  does  not 
enjoy  the  sport  of  catching  fish — when  they  bite! 
He  must  have  outlived  himself!"  This  state- 
ment may  be  a  little  strong,  but  it  is  what  Mr. 
Armour  said. 


THE  GREAT  SECRET  OUT.  235 

"  Con — junctions  !"  growled  Edward,  that 
instant  through  his  teeth,  as  n.  fine  perch  with 
an  aggravating  plash  dropped  from  his  hook 
into  the  pond.  Then  he  looked  up  roguishly 
into  Mr.  Armour's  face,  and  said :  "  I  guess  no 
chap,  no  matter  how  old  he  is,  enjoys  losing  a 
fish  after  he  bites." 

This  was  too  obvious  for  dissent,  and  Mr. 
Armour  continued  his  monologue. 

"  There  is  another  remarkable  fact  about 
fishing  ;  when  the  fish  bite  fairly  well  a  fisher- 
man hardly  ever  thinks  of  looking  at  his  watch." 

"  It  wouldn't  help  him  catch  fish  if  he  did," 
commented  Bernard,  as  he  drew  in  his  tenth 
perch. 

"  Do  n't  you  think  a  hundred  perch  ought 
to  satisfy  us?"  asked  Mr.  Armour,  as  he  landed 
another. 

"  Why,  they  just  keep  biting,"  replied  Ben- 
jamin, evidently  greatly  astonished  at  the  ab- 
surdity of  the  question. 

"  What  if  they  do  ?  We  ought  not  to  catch 
more  than  we  need.  We  have  already  all  we 
shall  eat,  and  all  we  can  well  carry  home,  or 
find  use  for  when  we  get  there.  To  kill  fish 
just  for  the  sake  of  killing  them  is  not  very 
noble  fun,  in  my  judgment." 

"  But  men  kill  lions,  tigers,  and  bears  just  for 
the  sake  of  killing  them,"  persisted  Benjamin. 


236  ROCKTON. 

"  Partly  true,"  was  the  reply,  "  though  you 
must  remember  that  lions,  tigers,  and  bears  are 
wild  and  ravenous  beasts.  It  would  not  be  safe 
to  have  them  in  the  vicinity  of  our  homes. 
Perch  don't  kill  sheep  or  men.  But  allow  that 
ravenous  beasts  are  more  ferocious  than  they  are 
said  to  be,  and  I  have  the  feeling  that  to  go  out 
into  wild  lands  and  shoot  them  just  for  the  sake 
of  shooting  them,  is  not  very  manly  sport. 
Brutish  as  the  Indians  are  said  to  be,  I  have  never 
heard  they  are  brutish  enough  for  this.  But  it 
is  time  to  be  thinking  of  dinner,  and  I  hope  to 
shoot  something  eatable  before  we  go  ashore." 

This  announcement  made  ten  eyes  stare  in 
big  surprise.  Shoot  something?  Whew!  Adol- 
phus  asked  him  if  he  intended  to  do  it  with  one 
of  the  clumsy  paddles ;  and  then  pulled  up  the 
stone  at  his  end  of  the  boat.  Mr.  Armour  had 
already  done  so.  The  Quintet  had  not  finished 
laughing  at  the  ridiculousness  of  "  shooting 
something  "  with  nothing  to  shoot  it  with,  when 
Mr.  Armour  unbuttoned  the  top  button  of  his 
coat,  and  out  of  a  deep  inside  pocket  took  a 
mimber  thirty -two -caliber  Wesson's  pocket 
rifle.  From  a  corresponding  pocket  in  the 
other  side,  he  pulled  out  a  skeleton  stock,  and 
leisurely  fitted  it  in  its  place.  Out  from  another 
pocket  came  a  box  of  cartridges,  and  the  rifle 
was  loaded  and  handed  to  Bernard,  who  was 


THE  GREAT  SECRET  OUT.  237 

told  to  hold  it  very  carefully.  The  boys  stared 
more  and  more.  There  certainly  was  an  un- 
expected something  to  shoot  with,  but  wHat 
was  there  to  be  shot?  Had  Mr.  Armour  got  that 
in  his  pocket,  too  ?  Evidently  not,  for  he  took 
up  his  paddle,  and  as  he  slowly  pushed  the  boat 
along,  said: 

"  We  will  go  up  to  the  end  of  the  pond  on 
our  way  back,  and  perhaps  I  can  get  a  shot  at 
a  lazy  pickerel  sunning  himself." 

In  reply  to  a  question  from  Adolphus,  as  to 
the  possibility  of  this,  he  further  said  : 

"Yes,  it 'is  possible;  for  pickerel  have  been 
shot.  I  do  n't  know  why  it  is,  but  at  this  time 
of  day,  in  bright  weather,  pickerel  are  some- 
times seen  lying  sluggishly  in  shallow  water. 
I  have  tried  them  several  times  with  bait,  but 
never  have  been  able  to  get  them  to  notice  it. 
I  have  threshed  the  water  all  around  them  with 
my  line,  and  not  have  them  stir.  Once  I  worked 
my  hook  under  a  lazy  fellow  and  caught  him  by 
the  gills.  Why  they  lie  in  this  way,  I  can  only 
guess.  Pickerel  are  voracious,  and  generally,  un- 
less deceived,  take  their  food  alive,  and,  of 
course,  swallow  it  whole.  At  times  they  are 
very  big  feeders.  A  friend  of  mine  caught  a 
big  one  by  trolling,  and  when  he  dressed  it  he 
found  a  smaller  one  in  its  stomach,  and  this 
smaller  one  had  a  big  shiner  in  its  stomach. 


238  ROCKTON. 

Now  tins  pickerel  ought  not  have  been  hungry, 
and  probably  was  not,  yet  my  friend  said  it  was* 
the  most  ravenous  bite  he  ever  had.  It  seems 
reasonable  that  when  pickerel  have  made  a 
very  hearty  meal  they  should,  like  other  crea- 
tures that  swallow  their  food  whole,  take  after- 
dinner  naps  to  help  digestion,  and  it  is  quite  as 
reasonable  that  at  such  times  they  should  be 
found  basking  in  the  sunlight  in  shallow  water." 

By  the  time  all  this  had  been  said,  he 
had  brought  the  boat  quite  near  the  cove  in  the 
end  of  the  pond,  where  the  bottom  was  some- 
what sandy,  the  water  shallow,  and  partly 
covered  with  patches  of  lily-pads.  Telling 
Bernard  to  hold  the  rifle  ready  to  be  handed  to 
him  on  his  signal,  and  the  rest  to  keep  perfectly 
still,  he  gave  the  boat  a  little  more  motion,  at 
the  same  time,  swinging  it  around  so  that  his 
own  end  pointed  towards  the  shore  as  it  drifted 
along  under  the  impulse  he  gave  it.  Laying  the 
paddle  across  the  boat  he  reached  his  hand  for 
the  ready  rifle,  and  as  his  eyes  sent  a  quick 
glance  around,  whispered: 

"  Now  do  n't  move  or  speak.  There  is  a  big 
fellow  just  ahead,  and  I  '11  try  for  him." 

Rising  slowly  and  steadily  to  his  feet,  he 
waited  for  the  boat  to  drift  a  few  feet  further  in, 
and  then  bringing  the  rifle  to  his  face  and 
pointing  it  downwards,  there  was  a  sharp  crack, 


THE  GREAT  SECRET  Our.  239 

and  the  plash  of  the  bullet  in  the  water.  The 
next  instant  all  saw  a  gleam  of  white  where  it 
had  blurred  the  surface,  and  Mr.  Armour  catch- 
ing up  his  paddle,  by  a  couple  of  swift  strokes, 
drew  the  boat  towards  the  fish,  which  stunned 
by  the  concussion,  had  turned  on  its  back. 
"Will  he  get  it  ?"  was  the  silent  question  of 
each  almost  breathless  boy.  Doubtful,  certainly.; 
for,  only  partly  stunned,  the  pickerel  turned  on 
its  side.  The  next  instant  it  would  doubtless  be 
away.  But  the  rough  paddle  came  down  on  its 
head,  and,  as  Benjamin  gleefully  said,  "  put  Mr. 
Pickerel  to  sleep  again,"  and  Mr.  Armour,  reach- 
ing down,  lifted  it  by  the  gills  and  laid  it  in  the 
boat.  Then  all  the  J.  Q.'s  cheered  until  the 
wooded  shores  rang,  while  Mr.  Armour,  with  his 
knife,  according  to  Bernard's  report,  "  killed  it 
again." 

It  required  but  a  few  moments  to  paddle 
Edward's  "  scow "  back  to  the  starting-place, 
where  Mr.  Blake  was  fourfd,  serenely  spitting, 
and  waiting,  he  having  brought,  by  Mr.  Ar- 
mour's direction,  a  small  can  of  milk,  a  wooden 
pail  with  some  potatoes,  and  a  tin  tea-kettle. 
When  Mr.  Armour  brought  his  pickerel  ashore, 
this  little  man  stuttered  out:  "M-m-mor'n 
th-than  a  th-three-p-p-pounder;1'  but  James  re- 
sented this  light  estimate,  and  affirmed: 

"  It's   bigger'n    that,"  and    appealed   to   Mr. 


240  ROCKTON. 

Armour   for    confirmation,  who  wisely   left   tlie 
weight  of  his  fish  an  open  question  by  saying : 
"It  is  large  enough  to  make   a   dinner  for  a 
small  family." 

The  boys  made  haste  to  place  the  perch  be- 
side the  pickerel.     Edward  affirmed  : 

"There  are  more  than  a  hundred,"  but  Ben- 
jamin boasted: 

"  Pooh  !  We  caught  more  than  that !" 
This  was  true,  for  Mr.  Armour  had  directed 
that  some  they  caught  should  be  at  once  re- 
turned to  the  water  as  unfit  for  use.  Anyway,  all 
agreed  that  they  had  a  nice  lot,  and  were  justly, 
proud  of  their  success.  Benjamin  was  the  most 
boastful,  and  Mr.  Armour  asked  him: 

"Do  you  think  you  could  eat  them  all?" 
The  boy  looked   at   the   scaly  pile,   and   an- 
swered : 

"I  could  try — if — if  they  were  cooked." 
How  far  he   succeeded  must  be  told  in  an- 
other chapter. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THEY  WERE  COOKS  ALL. 

IT  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  courage- 
ous appetite  confessed  by  Benjamin  was 
due  to  his  inordinate  fondness  for  fish,  but 
to  that  general  state  of  hungriness  which 
was  his  constitutional  peculiarity.  He  would 
•NT have  had  "a  snack"  from  the  supplies  in 
his  wallet,  if  Mr.  Armour  had  not  at  once  called 
on  all  the  J.  Q.'s  to  serve  as  cooks.  On  the  princi- 
ple of  the  organ-blower,  who  claimed  that  he  was 
quite  as  necessary  to  its  playing  as  the  organist, 
he  said,  "We  are  all  to  be  cooks  to-day,"  and 
set  all  at  work  without  delay.  To  Adolphus  he 
gave  the  hatchet,  and  leading  him  to  an  old 
pine-tree  top,  which  had  been  left  conveniently 
near,  he  directed  him  to  chop  the  branches  into 
firewood  not  over  a  foot  in  length ;  and  to  keep 
at  it  until  he  had  a  big  pile  in  readiness.  Mr. 
Blake  modestly  offered  his  services,  and  was 
told  to  wash  and  pare  the  potatoes,  and  then 
21  241 


242  ROCKTON. 

"slice  them  as  thin  as  thin  paper,"  to  which 
directions  he  replied,  "  E-eg-eg-zak-zak'ly ;"  and 
pulling  out  a  big  clasp-knife,  was  at  work  with- 
out further  remark.  Mr.  Armour  then  cut  a  few 
boughs  from  a  hemlock,  and  spreading  them  on 
the  ground  near  the  water's  edge,  told  Benjamin 
and  James  to  wash  all  the  slime  off  the  perch, 
and  lay  them  on  the  boughs  ready  for  dressing. 
A  thin,  flat  stone,  evidently  split  from  the  big, 
flat  rock  already  mentioned,  was  pointed  out  to 
Bernard,  and  he  was  directed  to  rub  it  with 
gravel  and  then  wash  it  off  thoroughly.  Ed- 
ward was  by  no  means  left  idle,  for  Mr.  Armour 
informed  him  he  was  to  assist  in  arranging  for 
the  fire,  and  might  begin  at  once  to  "tote" 
stones.  Evidently  Mr.  Armour  was  no  novice 
in  rustic  cooking,  for  in  a  very  short  time  he 
had  inclosed,  with  well-laid  stones,  a  space  some 
two  feet  long  and  a  foot  wide,  leaving  it  open  on 
the  side  to  the  wind.  When  this  was  done,  he 
took  from  the  wrap  which  had  been  round  the 
fishing-rods,  something  rolled  in  paper,  which 
proved  to  be  two  square,  iron  bars,  about  twenty- 
eight  inches  long.  These  he  placed  on  his  fire- 
place lengthwise,  and  about  seven  inches  apart, 
and  made  them  secure  by  another  course  of 
stones.  On  one  end  he  laid  the  flat  stone  which 
Bernard  had  zealously  scrubbed  and  rinsed. 
This  he  so  placed  that  half  or  more  of  its  width 


THEY  WERE  COOKS  ALL.  243 

rested  on  the  bars.  During  these  perfecting  ar- 
rangements, Edward  had  made  himself  busy  in 
bringing  of  the  product  of  Adolphus's  industry. 
Mr.  Armour's  ever-ready  knife  whittled  a  few 
sticks  into  kindlings,  and  before  Mr.  Blake  had 
shaved  the  last  potato  into  the  thinnest  of  thin 
slices,  the  fire  was  brightly  burning;  and  Adol- 
phus  v/as  told  that  he  had  prepared  enough 
fuel,  and  might  rest  himself  by  keeping  a  blaze 
going  that  would  make  sure  of  a  big  bed  of 
coals.  Edward  ran  to  rinse  and  fill  the  tin  tea- 
kettle, and  set  it  on  the  bars  to  boil. 

"Now  the  jackets  must  come  off  the  perch," 
said  Mr.  Armour,  and  at  it  he  went.  "Get 
some  hemlock  boughs,  Bernard,  and  lay  them 
near  the  water,  and  you  shall  rinse  off  the  fish 
as  we  dress  them.  James  will  pull  out  the  fins, 
and  Benjamin  will  get  that  square  piece  of 
board  that  came  in  the  pan,  and  cut  off  the 
heads  of  the  fish,  and  pass  them  along  to  Ber- 
nard to  wash." 

As  he  gave  these  directions  he  took  a  perch 
in  his  left  hand — or  rather,  between  his  fore- 
finger and  thumb,  thus  pinching  the  head  of  the 
fish  through  its  gills.  Thus  holding  it,  he  ran 
the  keen  blade  of  his  knife  along  both  sides  of 
its  dorsal  fin,  and  once  along  its  under  side. 
Turning  the  perch  back  up  again,  without 
changing  his  grip,  he  slipped  the  knife-blade 


244  ROCKTON. 

under  the  skin  near  the  head,  and  stripped  off — 
"like  a  flash,"  Bun  said — first  one,  and  then  the 
other  half. 

"My!  How  he  does  make  their  jackets  fly!" 
Edward  admiringly  exclaimed,  who  stood  ready 
to  help  everybody. 

Mr.  Blake  stuttered: 

"'G-ger-gess  I-I  ker-ker-kin  d-do  th-that 
ter-too,"  and  went  at  the  other  side  of  the 
perch  heap  with  a  dexterity  fully  equal  to  that 
of  Mr.  Armour. 

By  the  time  Adolphus  reported  that  there 
was  "a  jolly  bed  of  coals,"  the  perch  were  all 
dressed,  and  lying  well  washed  and  white  and 
hard,  in  readiness  for  the  frying-pan.  Then  it 
was  that  the  sheet-iron  pan  Edward  had  brought 
in  its  case  found  its  proper  place.  On  two  of 
its  sides,  and  opposite  to  each  other,  were  rings 
which,  when  turned  up,  allowed  a  green,  round 
stick  to  be  passed  through  them  for  a  handle. 
Holding  it  over  the  fire  a  moment  or  two,  it 
became  hot,  and  then  Mr.  Armour  dipped  it 
sizzling  into  the  pond,  when  lo!  it  came  out 
clean  and  dry.  Edward  was  sent  for  his  wallet, 
which  proved  to  contain  not  only  the  pork  pre- 
viously ordered,  but  a  package  of  salt;  and  an- 
other, the  contents  of  which,  on  being  opened, 
all  pronounced  to  be  meal.  The  square  piece 
of  board  which  had  covered  the  pan,  and  after- 


THEY  WERE  COOKS  ALL.  245 

wards  been  used  in  decapitating  perch,  came 
again  in  play.  All  this  was  but  the  blowing  of 
the  organ,  but  it  helped  make  the  music  of 
cooking  fish.  Mr.  Armour  cut  the  pork  into  the 
tiniest  of  cubes,  and  while  it  was  frying  in  the 
pan,  the  very  indispensable  square  of  board  was 
heaped  with  meal;  and  four  dozen  perch  were 
perched  on  a  clean  stone,  ready  to  be  rolled  in 
the  meal,  and  cooked  in  the  pan. 

Benjamin,  who  stood  looking  on  with  greedy 
eyes,  in  an  intense  aside,  said  to  James: 

"There  won't  be  quite  seven  apiece,  if  Mr. 
Blake  stays  to  dinner;  but  if  he  don't,  there 
will  be  just  eight  apiece." 

It  would  take  too  long,  or  might  be  too  tan- 
talizing, to  tell  how  the  pan  was  filled  with  fish, 
and  how  they  were  watched  and  turned  until 
they  were — according  to  Bun's  veracious  asser- 
tion— "done  as  brown  as  doughnuts;"  or  how, 
when  done,  they  were  placed  on  the  flat  stone 
at  the  end  of  the  fire-place,  to  be  kept  hot  until 
they  should  be  served;  or  how  this  operation 
was  repeated  until  the  last  fish  was  cooked. 
When  this  "supreme  moment"  was  reached, 
poor  Benjamin,  with  his  longing  eyes  and  water- 
ing mouth,  had  to  be  taught  another  lesson  in 
patience  and  abstinence. 

"Now  for  the  potatoes,"  said  Mr.  Armour. 
"Saratoga  chips  will  be  nowhere!" 


246  ROCKTON. 

How  they  fried!  How  the  boys  danced 
around!  "To  get  up  an  appetite,"  they  said, 
though  it  must  be  allowed  that  this  was  en- 
tirely needless.  Mr.  Blake,  who  had  privately 
spoken  a  word  with  Mr.  Armour,  darted  off  like 
a  boy,  and  by  the  time  the  first  batch  of  pota- 
toes were  well  browned,  was  back  with  a  bright 
tin  milk-pan,  into  which  they  were  speedily 
transferred  by  the  aid  of  a  big  iron  spoon  he 
had  also  brought  along.  The  frying-pan  was 
again  filled,  and  the  boys  directed  to  prepare 
the  big,  flat  rock  for  use  as  a  table.  Wallets 
were  opened,  and  the  luncheons  so  arranged  as 
to  leave  each  boy  room  to  sit  on  the  edge  of  the 
rock.  The  tin  cups  or  dippers  were  placed  be- 
side the  luncheons;  and  portions  of  newspapers 
laid  down  to  serve  for  plates,  and  weighted 
with  small  stones  to  prevent  their  blowing 
away. 

When  the  second  batch  of  potatoes  had  gone 
into  the  milk-pan,  and  still  another  was  cook- 
ing, Mr.  Armour  fished  in  one  of  his  pockets, 
and  pulled  out  a  little  package,  the  contents  of 
which  he  poured  into  the  tea-kettle,  and  set  it 
on  the  rock,  and  said: 

"I  think  our  tea  will  be  ready  when  every- 
thing else  is  ditto." 

Benjamin  affirmed  that  he  had  "been  'ditto' 
for  a  long  time."  To  this  ravenous  remark, 


THEY  WERE  COOKS  ALL,  247 

Mr.  Armour  appeared  to  give  no  heed,  but  fished 
in  Edward's  wallet  and  found  "just  one  pack- 
age more,"  which  proved  to  contain  sugar, 
and — probably  as  a  happy  thought  of  Miss 
Sarah — a  couple  of  tea-spoons. 

"Just  enough,"  Mr.  Armour  said.  "One  to 
serve  the  sugar,  and  one  to  loan  each  of  the  com- 
pany to  stir  it  in." 

The  package  of  sugar,  with  the  spoons,  went 
on  the  big  rock ;  so  also  the  pan  of  potatoes  and 
the  milk-can.  Then  Mr.  Armour,  with  pieces 
of  paper  for  holders,  lifted  the  hot,  flat  stone 
with  its  great  pile  of  perch,  and  placed  it  in  the 
very  center  of  their  big  natural  table,  and  said: 

"All  ready  at  last." 

But  he  was  a  little  fast.  No  paper  plate  or 
tin  cup  had  been  placed  for  Mr.  Blake.  Sure 
enough,  it  was  Edward  who  discovered  the 
omission.  Mr.  Blake  insisted: 

"Y-yer-you  d-don't  w-war-warnt  n-no  sus- 
sus-stranger;"  but  the  boys  made  a  louder  and 
longer  insistence,  and  declared  they  would  not 
eat,  hungry  as  they  were,  unless  he  would  play 
guest.  A  piece  of  paper  was  laid  down  and 
duly  ballasted  with  stones,  the  cover  of  the  milk- 
can  having  lost  its  handle  was  solemnly  placed 
beside  it  for  a  cup,  and  the  boys  contributed  of 
their  luncheons  until  the  little  lingual  limper 
avowed:  "I-I  '11  b-bu-bust  f-f 'I  e-e-eat  it  a-all!" 


248  ROCKTOM. 

At  last  all  things  were  really  ready — Benja- 
min more  than  ready — but  Mr.  Armour  said : 

"Here,  as  everywhere,  we  should  be  thank- 
ful for  good  things;"  and  taking  off  his  hat,  all 
instinctively  following  his  example,  he  rever- 
ently asked  a  blessing  on  the  food  which  was 
lying  before  them. 

How  they  fell  to!  The  big  spoon  did  big 
duty  in  serving  the  potatoes,  and  each  paper 
plate  was  heaped.  Then  each  boy  reached  for 
a  fish,  which  he  took  by  the  tail,  and  proceeded 
to  dispose  of  in  a  very  primitive  fashion. 

"Saratoga  chips!"  commented  Edward,  with 
his  mouth  full.  "  They  are  poor  fodder  along- 
side of  these." 

Most  of  the  boys  allowed  their  wagging  jaws 
time  to  assent  to  this  eulogium.  Benjamin 
alone  was  silent;  he  was  too  busy  stuffing  him- 
self for  flattering  comparisons,  small  talk,  or 
anything  else  than  stuffing. 

Mr.  Blake  stuttered  at  Mr.  Armour  the  com- 
pliment that  he  could  get  big  wages  as  a  cook 
for  some  metropolitan  hotel,  but  that  gentleman 
modestly  replied: 

"It  would  be  a  losing  business,  unless  I  could 
take  the  J.  Q.'s  along  to  catch  fish  for  me." 

The  gratifying  gastronomic  work  went  on, 
until  there  were  more  bones  in  sight  than  fish. 
Not  that  our  friends  were  troubled  with  the 


THEY  WERE  COOKS  ALL.  249 

former,  for  perch  dressed  and  cooked  as  were 
those  of  their  feast  give  no  such  annoyance. 
The  dressing  removes  the  fins  and  some  of  the 
smaller  bones;  and  when  well  cooked,  the  meat 
readily  separates  from  the  remaining  bones,  leav- 
ing quite  a  skeleton  as  evidence  of  the  prowess 
of  the  eater. 

Mr.  Armour  quoted  the  "old  saw:" 

"A  carpenter  should  be  known  by  his  chips," 
to  which  Edward  instantly  rejoined: 

"  .£r-pecially  Chippy." 

There  was  a  general  laugh  at  this  poor  pun ; 
but  James  growled  out,  with  greasy  mouth : 

"Getting  mighty /ar-ticular  how  you  speak;" 
thus  unconsciously  doing  respect  to  his  mate's 
new  habit  of  careful  utterance. 

Before  dinner  was  ended,  the  last  batch  of 
potatoes  went  to  re-enforce  the  milk-pan,  but  the 
boys  protested  they  had  no  other  place  for  it. 
Adolphus,  declaring  he  could  not  and  would  not 
eat  any  more,  got  himself  on  his  feet ;  a  maneu- 
ver which  was  imitated  by  all  except  Benjamin. 
This  voracious  young  gentleman  still  sat,  and 
ruefully  eyed  the  hot  stone,  on  which  there  re- 
mained several  toothsome  perch. 

"Can't  you  finish  the  job?"  laughingly  in- 
quired Mr.  Armour. 

The  boy  shook  his  head  disconsolately,  and 
rubbed  his  distended  stomach  for  a  reply.  Adol- 


250  ROCKTON. 

phus  and  Edward  offered  to  take  him  away,  and 
roll  him  over  a  log,  if  they  could  find  one.  At 
length  he,  too,  got  up,  and  like  the  rest  declared 
he  could  not  "eat  one  bit  more." 

What  could  be  done  with  the  remainder? 
They  could  not  carry  it  home,  nor  did  they  wish 
to  throw  it  away.  Mr.  Blake  unobtrusively 
hinted  that,  if  they  had  no  use  for  it,  he  would 
carry  it  to  the  house  for  his  brother,  who  was 
"  fer-fer-fond  of  f-f-fish."  So  the  perch  were 
laid  on  the  potatoes,  and  he  was  told  he  was 
more  than  welcome  to  the  contents  of  his  own 
pan.  Adolphus  whispered  to  Mr.  Armour  that 
they  had  thus  discovered  that  the  queer  bundle 
of  duds  up  at  the  house  could  eat. 

The  next  thing  was  to  care  for  the  perch 
which  had  not  been  cooked.  Bernard  got  into 
the  boat,  and  found  several  which  had  been 
overlooked.  These  were  dressed,  together  with 
the  pickerel  which  Mr.  Armour  had  placed  in 
the  water  to  keep  it  in  good  condition.  This 
pickerel  he  strung  through  the  gills  with  a  piece 
of  line,  to  which  he  tied  a  short,  round  stick  for 
convenience  in  carrying,  and  then  rolled  it  in 
an  old  newspaper,  making  this  secure  with  more 
line.  This  done,  he  assorted  the  perch,  making 
of  them  four  piles,  three  of  which  contained  a 
dozen  and  a  half,  the  fourth  a  round  dozen. 
Edward  was  told  he  needed  no  more  perch  to 


THEY  WERE  COOKS  ALL.  251 

stimulate  his  active  brain,  while  Bernard  was  as- 
sured that  a  dozen  fish  were  sufficient  for  his  small 
household;  so  each  of  four  boys  rolled  up  his 
perch  in  whatever  paper  he  had  left,  and,  put- 
ting them  in  his  wallet,  hung  it  on  the  tree. 

After  an  hour  spent  in  resting  and  strolling 
through  the  woods,  Mr.  Armour  called  The 
Quintet  together,  that  they  might  get  into  har- 
ness for  the  homeward  march.  The  frying-pan 
was  burned  clean  and  hid  in  its  case,  the  hatchet 
again  made  safe  to  carry,  and,  when  all  the 
traps  were  properly  adjusted,  the  party  returned 
to  the  house. 

Mr.  Blake,  who  had  preceded  them  to  feed 
his  taciturn  brother,  was  awaiting  them.  Mr. 
Armour  asked  him  for  a  handful  of  unbroken 
rye-straw,  which,  having  obtained,  he  proceeded 
further  to  dress  up  his  pickerel.  First  he  thor- 
oughly wet  the  paper  around  it,  and  then,  lay- 
ing it  on  some  straw  and  placing  more  over  it, 
he  tied  it  up  so  as  to  make  a  complete  cover  or 
sheath  for  it.  Cutting  the  spare  straw  off  at 
both  ends,  he  held  it  up  and  said: 

"Young  fishermen,  you  see  my  pickerel  will 
keep  fresh,  my  clothes  will  not  be  soiled,  and 
'  Paul  Pry,'  if  I  should  meet  him,  could  n't  tell 
what  I  am  carrying." 

Well,  it  was  time  to  go.  No  doubt  about 
this.  Mr.  Armour  shook  hands  with  Mr.  Blake 


252  ROCKTON. 

in  a  way  which  made  that  worthy  gentleman 
grin,  chuckle,  double  up  his  fist,  thrust  it  down 
into  his  overalls  pocket,  and  stutter: 

"Ga-ga-glad  ter-ter  s-s-see  ye-you  a-a-any 
t-ter-time." 

At  a  signal  from  Adolphus,  the  J.  Q's  got  in 
line,  took  off  their  hats,  and  gave  three  cheers 
and  a  tiger;  after  which  they  followed  Mr.  Ar- 
mour into  the  road,  where  he  called  a  halt,  and 
told  them  they  could  go  home  the  way  they 
came  or  take  a  shorter  cut  across  the  country. 
He  explained  that  there  was  a  cart-path  leading 
south  through  the  woods,  which  would  bring 
them  to  the  foot  of  a  high  ridge,  which  they 
could  see  something  of  a  mile  away,  and  which 
they  would  have  to  climb.  On  the  further  side 
of  this  ridge  there  was  another  cart-path,  made 
by  lumbermen,  which  would  lead  them  very 
nearly  home.  This  way  would  be  considerably 
rougher  than  the  public  road,  but  it  would  be 
nearly  two  miles  shorter.  Both  ways  would  be 
pleasant,  and  they  might  take  their  choice. 
Adolphus  put  it  to  vote,  and  it  was  unani- 
mously decided  to  take  the  short  cut  if  Mr. 
Armour  would  play  the  part  of  guide.  As  they 
turned  into  the  wood  road,  Edward  said: 

"Mr.  Armour  has  his  rifle,  and  may  shoot 
some  big  game." 

He  did  not  know  he  was  a  prophet.' 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

SOME  BIG  GAME  BAGGED. 

TT7HE  cart-path  into  which  Mr.  Armour 
-g-  led  the  boys  winds  its  way  delightfully 
thiough  a  thrifty  second  growth  of  oak  and 
birch,  and  occasionally  skirts  low  places 
where  grow  fir  and  juniper.  As  its  general 
L  course  is  north  and  south,  the  rays  of  that 
afternoon's  sun  could  not  flood  it,  but  instead 
cast  a  cool  shade,  which  added  much  to  the  com- 
fort and  pleasure  of  the  walk.  At  first  the  boys 
trudged  on  at  a  rapid  gait,  singing,  "Marching 
through  Georgia"  and  other  marching  choruses; 
but  the  "  whirr  "  of  a  partridge  now  and  then, 
and  the  occasional  glimpse  of  a  rabbit  as  it 
whisked  out  of  the  path,  diverted  their  attention 
and  slowed  their  pace.  There  was  a  general 
clamor  for  Mr.  Armour  to  show  his  skill  with 
the  rifle,  but  in  reply  he  read  them  the  humane 
lesson,  "  To  kill  for  fun  is  simply  brutal."  On 
this  he  enlarged  by  saying:  "  I  wish  for  all  boys 

253 


254  ROCKTON. 

to  have  all  the  fun  they  have  right  to ;  for  hon- 
est amusement  and  legitimate  adventures  will 
help  make  them  wiser,  better,  and  healthier. 
Nothing  which  is  brutal  can  do  this.  I  wish 
you  to  be  jolly  ;  but  you  ought  to  be  ambitious 
to  be  manly  boys.  Always  crush  out  of  your 
minds  the  least  thought  or  desire  for  anything 
cruel,  mean,  or  unworthy.  Go  for  the  noblest 
pleasures  every  time  ;  and  remember  this :  the 
highest  joy  is  always  found  in  being  kind,  ten- 
der, and  truthful,  and  in  doing  good.  It  is 
against  the  law  to  shoot  partridges,  rabbits,  or 
other  game  at  this  season.  If  it  were  not,  I 
would  not  shoot  them  unless  I  wished  to  eat 
them." 

"  I  heard  Mr.  Allard  say  that  he  was  '  no  pot- 
hunter.' What  did  he  mean?"  asked  Adolphus. 

"  I  suppose  he  meant  it  to  be  understood 
that  he  is  what  is  called  (  a  sportsman,'  and  does 
not  kill  game,  simply  for  the  game.  If  this  is 
so,  he  shoots  game  to  show  his  skill,  or  to  im- 
prove it.  To  take  away  the  lives  of  God's  harm- 
less creatures  for  this  purpose  is  unmanly,  for  it 
is  unnecessary  ;  more,  it  is  wanton  cruelty.  If 
a  '  pot-hunter '  is  one  who  kills  game  to  put  in 
his  pot,  and  who  kills  only  what  he  wishes  to 
eat,  then,  in  my  judgment,  the  'pot-hunter'  is 
the  more  manly,  and  the  real  sportsman." 

Of  course  such  talk  as  this  opened  the  wray 


SOME  BIG  GAME  BAGGED.  255 

for  more.  Benjamin,  a  short  time  before,  had 
read  an  account  of  the  doings  of  a  hunting 
party  in  the  Wild  West,  and  he  launched  into 
a  somewhat  lurid  description  of  the  daring 
deeds,  hair-breadth  escapes,  and  wild  animals 
slain,  of  which  it  told.  Evidently  he  had  been 
much  delighted  with  it. 

It  may  not  have  been  said  in  so  many  words 
that  Mr.  Armour  is  a  wise  man  ;  if  not,  let  it 
now  go  down  for  a  fact.  He  did  not  say, 
"Young  man,  such  books  are  not  fit  to  read!" 
O  no  !  But  he  did  say  : 

"  We  read,  and  perhaps  sometimes  ought  to 
read,  books  describing  actions  we  are  not  bound 
to  imitate.  If  you  read  the  description  of  a 
drunken  brawl,  you  ought  not  to  have  a  desire 
to  get  drunk  and  fight.  On  the  contrary,  you 
ought  to  be  more  strongly  fixed  in  the  deter- 
mination to  do  neither.  The  danger  in  such 
books  as  Benjamin  has  been  reading  is,  that 
boys  are  by  them  often  led  to  think  that  there 
is  something  specially  heroic  in  unnecessary 
dangers  and  hair-breadth  escapes.  If  you  will 
learn  to  study  the  acts  of  men,  and  discern 
their  true  nature  and  worth,  then  good  may 
come, out  of  the  reading.  But  what  is  there 
heroic  in  a  man  who,  because  he  is  daring,  and 
holds  his  life  cheap,  faces  a  grizzly  bear  for  the 
poor  glory  of  killing  it  if  he  can?" 


256  ROCKOH. 

At  this  time  they  had  reached  a  clearing 
where  the  choppers,  in  trimming  trees,  had  left 
large  piles  of  the  limbs,  now  well  dried.  Calling 
attention  to  these,  Mr.  Armour  continued  : 

"  Suppose  that  I  should  set  fire  to  all  this 
brush,  and  get  it  to  blazing  furiously;  and  then 
should  challenge  you  all  to  jump  into  it  or  run 
through  it,  would  you  do  it?" 

"  Not  much  !"  replied  Adolphus ;  and  the 
rest  agreed  with  him.  Even  Benjamin  said  he 
could  n't  see  any  use  there  could  be  in  spoiling 
his  clothes  or  getting  burned  to  death. 

"What  if  I  should  call  you  cowards  because 
you  would  n't  do  it?"  asked  Mr.  Armour. 

"  It  just — just — would  n't  be  true,"  answered 
Edward  stoutly. 

"  That  is  a  very  polite  way  of  saying  it 
would  be  a  lie!  You  are  correct.  Now  sup- 
pose that  while  the  brush  was  burning  all 
around  on  the  edges  of  the  clearing,  you  should 
see  your  little  sister,  or  some  small  child  in  the 
center,  and  in  danger  of  being  burned  to  death ! 
Then  what  would  you  do  ?" 

"  I'd  get  her  out  in  a  minute,"  replied  Adol- 
phus, with  flashing  eyes.  He  thinks  he  has  just 
the  loveliest  and  most  lovable  little  sister  in  the 
whole  world — and  thinks  right  for  Adolphus. 

"  But  what  if  you  should  be  burned  to  death 
in  trying  to  save  her?" 


BIG  GAME  BAGGED.  257 

"  I— I  do  n't  think  I  would  think  of  that," 
answered  the  boy  with  a  modest  flush  on  his 
face. 

There  was  a  tender  expression  in  Mr.  Ar- 
mour's eyes  as  he  said  : 

"  That  would  be  true  heroism,  Adolphus. 
But  if  I  should  challenge  you  to  run  through 
the  fire,  and  you  should  do  so  for  fear  I  would 
call  you  a  coward  if  you  refused,  do  n't  you  see 
you  would  be  a  coward  after  all  ?  There  is  noth- 
ing brave  in  doing  a  thing  because  it  is  daring — 
it  is  simply  fool-hardy.  I  wish  the  J.  Q.'s  to  be 
brave  and  face  danger  when  there  is  need  of 
facing  it;  and  I  wish  them  to  be  just  as  brave, 
and  utterly  refuse  to  be  fool-hardy." 

How  long  this  conversation  might  have  contin- 
ued it  is  not  possible  to  say  ;  as  a  matter  of  fact  it 
was  suddenly  brought  to  an  end  by  Edward,  who 
looked  up  roguishly  at  Mr.  Armour,  and  said  : 

"Any  way,  I  'd  like  to  shoot  at  something." 

This  wise  man  was  wise  enough  to  follow 
this  lead  and  change  the  subject.  The  party 
had  reached  open  ground  at  the  base  of  the 
ridge,  which  must  be  climbed  before  they  could 
strike  the  path  on  the  other  side.  Having 
plenty  of  time,  a  rest  was  in  order.  While  the 
boys  stretched  themselves  on  the  mossy  turf, 
Mr.  Armour  walked  to  the  perpendicular  face  of 
a  ledge  about  two  hundred  yards  away,  and, 


258  ROCKTON. 

taking  a  paper  target  from  his  pocket,  unfolded 
it  and  fastened  it  upon  the  ledge.  Coming 
back,  he  asked  for  the  hatchet,  and  cutting  a 
forked  sapling,  trimmed  it  and  drove  it  into 
the  ground  as  a  rest  for  the  rifle.  Taking  this 
out  and  loading  it,  he  arranged  and  explained 
the  sights,  and  then  offering  it  to  Edward,  told 
him  to  shoot.  This  the  eager  boy  was  about  to 
do,  but  suddenly  seemed  to  change  his  mind, 
and  declared  he  would  "  shoot  last,"  if  at  all. 
The  others  were  quite  willing  he  should  wait; 
and  Bernard,  Benjamin,  James,  and  Adolphus, 
in  turn,  had  "a  crack"  at  the  target.  Adolphus 
hit  the  outer  edge  of  the  paper;  the  others  freely 
admitted  they  "hit  nowhere."  Then  came  Ed- 
ward, whose  shot  left  a  black  dot  inside  the 
outer  ring.  All  insisted  that  Mr.  Armour  should 
show  them  what  he  could  do,  and,  without  the 
rest,  he  managed  to  plant  a  bullet  just  under  the 
bull's-eye.  After  another  round,  with  about  the 
same  result,  except  that  Mr.  Armour's  second 
bullet  clipped  the  upper  edge  of  the  bull's-eye, 
they  resumed  the  homeward  march. 

It  required  some  smart  scrambling  to  climb 
the  ridge;  but,  slipping,  scratching,  shouting, 
laughing,  and  puffing,  they  at  length  accom- 
plished it,  and  found  a  fine  view  and  time  to  re- 
cover their  wind  at  the  top.  As  they  looked 
south,  the  woods  stretched  away  in  green  bil- 


SOME  BIG  GAME  BAGGED.  259 

lows  for  nearly  two  miles,  beyond  which  they 
could  see  the  tip  of  the  spire  of  Northville 
church,  and  still  beyond  that  the  clustering 
houses  which  have  in  part  overrun  the  old-time 
Pound  Pasture. 

Edward  and  James  soon  pointed  out  their 
homes.  All  wished  to  know  if  they  were  to 
travel  "straight  away"  for  Northville.  Mr.  Ar- 
mour showed  them  where  they  were  to  make 
their  way  down  the  south  side  of  the  ridge  and 
towards  a  swamp,  on  the  edge  of  which  they 
could  find  a  wood  road,  leading  them  in  a 
slightly  westerly  direction.  This  road,  he  told 
them,  would  bring  them  out  into  the  highway 
they  had  traveled  in  the  morning,  at  a  point 
about  half  a  mile  from  where  they  took  the 
stage.  But  he  said  they  could  make  their  walk 
shorter  by  turning  into  a  foot-path  and  coming 
out  on  Brent's  Hill,  a  sharp  elevation  northwest 
from  Mr.  Holt's,  and  about  half  a  mile  distant. 
After  giving  James  an  extra  and  needful  lesson 
in  cautiousness,  he  directed  an  oblique  descent 
into  the  valley  and  towards  the  swamp.  Each 
sought  the  easiest  way  down,  and  when  the  foot 
of  the  ridge  was  reached  the  party  was  some- 
what separated. 

Mr.  Armour  and  Edward  were  nearest  the 
swamp,  the  latter,  boy-like,  in  advance.  As  he 
parted  some  low  bushes,  something  suddenly 


260  ROCKTON. 

started  up  which  looked  immense  to  his  aston- 
ished eyes.  This  something  leaped  away,  and 
in  an  instant  was  on  one  of  the  lower  branches 
of  a  big  hemlock.  Mr.  Armour  heard  the  sharp 
cry  of  the  surprised  boy,  and  the  scratching 
sound  which  the  something  made  as  he  "treed" 
it.  His  rifle  was  out  in  an  instant;  for  his 
quick  eyes  saw  and  recognized  the  big  game. 
Without  stopping  to  adjust  the  stock,  he  slipped 
a  cartridge  from  his  vest-pocket  into  its  place, 
and  drew  a  bead  on  the  "varmint."  He  could 
not  see  its  head,  and  if  he  had  been  able  to  see 
so  small  a  mark  without  the  stock,  his  aim 
might  not  have  been  sure.  As  the  creature 
stood,  with  arching  back  and  bristling  hair, 
ready  for  a  spring  and  escape,  he  brought,  as 
near  as  he  could  judge,  the  sights  to  bear  over 
its  heart.  The  next  instant  there  was  a  sharp 
crack,  a  plunge  into  the  bushes,  and  the  sound 
of  a  following  flurry.  Bidding  Edward  stand 
perfectly  still,  and  hastily  reloading  his  rifle,  he 
made  his  way  cautiously  in  the  direction  of  the 
sound.  The  rifle  cracked  again,  and  the  flurry 
was  over. 

The  other  boys  came  bursting  through  the 
bushes  as  Mr.  Armour  dragged  into  a  clear 
space  the  creature  he  had  shot.  There  was  a 
sizable  hubbub.  No  boy  had  ever  seen  the 
like.  What  was  it?  Benjamin  eyed  it  suspi- 


SOME  BIG  GAME  BAGGED.  261 

ciously,  but  at  a  safe  distance,  and  asked  Mr. 
Armour  if  he  was  sure  it  was  quite  dead.  Adol- 
phus  wished  to  know  if  it  was  a  catamount,  and 
Edward  asked  if  it  was  not  a  panther.  They 
were  told  that  those  were  names  for  the  puma, 
or  American  lion,  a  very  large  animal,  and  ex- 
ceedingly dangerous  to  encounter.  Edward  at 
length  ventured  another  guess,  and  guessed 
"  it  must  be  a  wild-cat." 

"  Quite  right  this  time,"  said  Mr.  Armour. 
"  It  is  a  very  large  specimen  of  the  bay  lynx 
or  Bob-cat.  I  have  seen  several  of  this  species 
in  my  rambles,  but  none  so  large  as  this." 

"Are  there  any  other  kinds  about  here?" 
asked  Adolphus. 

"  There  are  said  to  be  four  occasionally 
found  in  the  United  States.  I  never  have  seen  but 
one  alive,  and  know  of  but  one  more  being  seen 
in  this  part  of  the  country.  The  Canada  lynx  is 
usually  of  a  gray  color,  and  has  longer  and  larger 
legs  than  the  bay  lynx,  but  has  a  body  smaller 
in  proportion.  Once  in  a  while  one  of  this 
species  is  seen  in  this  State." 

"  Do  they  kill  folks  ?"  asked  Benjamin,  who 
had  edged  up  to  the  dead  lynx  and  was  pok- 
ing it  with  a  stick. 

"Hardly,"  replied  Mr.  Armour.  "They  are 
inoffensive  unless  attacked  in  a  corner,  or 
wounded  so  they  can  not  get  out  of  the  way. 


262  ROCKTON. 

Then,  of  course,  they  scratch  and  bite,  and  do 
so  as  as  hard  as  they  can.  A  friend  of  mine 
had  a  pair  of  pantaloons  ruined  by  one  he  had 
disabled.  This  fellow  would  have  got  into  a 
ledge  or  some  hole  out  of  the  way  if  he  had 
seen  the  chance.  Edward  frightened  him  and 
he  went  up  the  tree  for  safety,  and  to  look 
around.  He  was  just  ready  to  take  "scotch 
leave,"  when  I  let  go  at  him.  When  I  saw  him 
I  was  anxious  to  bring  him  down.  Last  winter 
I  was  looking  for  a  specimen  in  the  Natural 
History  Rooms  in  Blankopolis,  where  I  go  some- 
times to  study,  and  I  could  not  find  one ;  but 
now  I  can  supply  the  deficiency. 

"  How  can  we  get  Mr.  Lynx  home  ?"  dubi- 
ously inquired  Bernard. 

"We'll  lug  him,"  proposed  Edward. 

Adolphus  shook  his  head,  and  said:  "That's 
what  no  two  of  us  boys  can  do." 

"  But  four  of  us  could  carry  him  if  each 
should  take  hold  of  a  leg."  This  was  Bernard's 
solution  of  this  transportation  problem. 

Benjamin  evidently  intended  to  be  perfectly 
safe,  and  objected.  "He  might  come  to,  and 
scratch  or  bite." 

Bernard  was  equal  to  this  emergency,  and 
replied  :  "  The  rest  of  us  can  carry  him,  and 
you  can  walk  behind  and  see  he  does  n't 
bite  us." 


SOME  BIG  GAME  BAGGED.  263 

All  the  while  Mr.  Armour  had  been  an 
amused  listener.  He  now  said  :  "  I  will  let  you 
carry  our  prize,  but  I  must  make  it  easy  for  you." 

He  asked  Edward  for  the  hatchet,  and 
walked  away  ;  the  boys  heard  a  few  vigorous 
whacks,  and  before  they  were  done  debating  as 
to  what  he  was  doing,  he  was  back  with  two 
small,  white  birches.  Out  of  these  he  trimmed 
a  pair  of  poles  about  eight  feet  long,  leaving 
several  branches  on  one  side,  and  near  the  middle 
of  each.  Laying  these  on  the  ground  parallel  to 
each  other,  and  about  twenty-four  inches  apart, 
he  asked  Bernard  to  open  the  frying-pan  case 
and  hand  him  a  fishing-line.  He  then  bent  the 
loose  ends  of  the  branches  around  the  opposite 
poles,  and  tied  them  fast,  thus  making  a  small 
rude  litter,  and  then  cut  a  few  boughs  from  the 
hemlock,  and  spread  them  like  a  mat  upon  it. 
This  done,  it  required  but  a  moment  to  have 
the  lynx  ready  for  transportation.  Edward  and 
Adolphus  were  the  first  detail.  The  former,  be- 
ing the  shorter,  stepped  between  the  poles  in 
front,  while  Adolphus  did  the  same  behind. 
Mr.  Armour  gave  the  word,  and  they  picked  up 
the  load.  The  limber  birch  branches,  and  the 
hemlock  boughs  bent  just  enough  under  the 
body  of  the  lynx  to  prevent  it  from  rolling  off; 
and  Edward  declared  it  was  just  the  thing,  and 
that  he  could  carry  his  end  all  the  way  home. 


264  ROCKTON. 

Mr.  Armour  went  back  and  picked  up  the 
pickerel,  which  he  had  dropped,  when  he  caught 
sight  of  the  lynx,  and  when  all  were  ready,  told 
them  to  follow  him  in  Indian  file.  In  a  short 
time  they  struck  the  wood  road  which  proved 
broad  and  smooth  enough  to  allow  four  boys  to 
carry  the  lynx.  They  were  in  no  hurry — that 
is,  after  awhile !  They  thought  the  lynx  was 
an  enormous  creature  when  they  first  saw  it. 
Paradoxically  they  declared  it  was  not  heavy  to 
carry.  It  grew  considerably  in  their  estimation 
as  they  trudged  towards  Northville.  Edward 
humorously  declared  that-  if  they  had  twenty 
miles  to  lug  the  thing  it  would  get  to  be  as 
heavy  as  an  elephant. 

.What  if  it  did  take  an  hour  longer  to  get 
home?  Did  anybody  in  Northville  ever  before 
go  fishing,  and  come  home  with  a  monstrous 
wild  cat?  For  a  time  the  pickerel  was  at  an 
obscuring  discount.  They  marched  slowly, 
rested  often,  congratulating  themselves  all  the 
while  until  they  came  where  they  must  leave 
the  cart-path,  and  take  the  shorter  trail  leading 
over  Brent's  Hill.  Then  the  load  must  be  borne 
by  twos.  But  they  changed  often,  and  tugged 
cheerfully.  Brent's  Hill,  on  the  north,  is  not 
steep,  and  by  the  time  Benjamin  was  expressing 
his  longings  for  supper  they  had  topped  it,  and 
come  to  a  delightful  place  to  rest 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  EVER-MEMORABLE  DAY  WINDS  UP. 

"TT7HERE!"   ejaculated   Edward,   with  a 
•£-    comical  inflection  of  relief;  "  let  that 
immense    Bob-cat,  wild-cat,   and   bay   lynx 
lie  in  the  shade  and  shrink  some  before  we 
tug  him  the  rest  of  the  way." 

Probably  the  other  fragments  of  the 
J.  Q.'s  were  equally  thankful.  At  least  no  one 
objected  at  all  when  Mr.  Armour  said : 

"You  have  brought  our  prize  to  the  edge  of 
civilization,  and  now  we  will  find  some  other 
mode  of  transportation." 

They  had  indeed  come  to  the  edge  of  civil- 
ization, and  not  a  thin  edge  either ;  for  they  had 
Rockton  at  their  very  feet.  Brent's  Hill,  on  its 
south  side,  is  a  somewhat  abrupt  elevation.  It 
is  not  very  long  from  east  to  west.  Its  top  is 
higher  than  Ridge  Street;  and  while  much  of 
the  center  of  Rockton  can  not  be  se"en  from  it, 
there  is  a  fine  view  of  Northville,  from  which  it 

23  265 


266  ROCKTON. 

-is  but  a  few  moments'  walk,  and  other  portions 
of  this  thriving  town. 

Mr.  Armour  and  the  boys  (and  the  lynx)  had 
not  stopped  to  rest  on  the  very  crest  of  the  hill, 
but  a  little  under  it,  on  the  south  side,  where  it 
drops  away  in  a  gentle  descent,  thus  forming  a 
shallow  basin,  or  hollow,  quite  free  from  rocks 
(plentiful  elsewhere),  and  containing  perhaps 
half  a  dozen  acres  of  very  good  soil.  This 
spot,  because  of  its  peculiar  situation,  and  the 
improvements  made  upon  it,  is  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal show  places  of  Rockton.  There  is  noth- 
ing very  grand  about  the  buildings  or  grounds; 
but  they  are  neat,  attractive,  and  rather  dainty 
in  appearance. 

Some  fifteen  years  before  the  time  of  this 
story,  a  Mr.  Wentwojth,  who  had  amassed  a 
considerable  fortune,  and  was  largely  interested 
in  several  manufacturing  enterprises  in  the 
State,  saw  the  location,  bought  it,  erected  the 
buildings,  and  ornamented  the  grounds  to  please 
the  taste  of  his  wife.  It  may  be  hard  to  make 
a  picture  of  all  our  friends  were  enjoying,  but 
the  beauty  is  there  to  be  seen  if  not  described. 
The  house  is  not  "a  mansion  "  or  "a  villa."  It 
is  a  neat,  vine-grown  cottage,  with  wide  veran- 
das, and  is  pleasing  to  the  eye  and  suggestive 
of-  comfort-  within.  The  outbuildings  show 
equal  taste.  These  buildings  are  set  in  an 


THE  DAY  WINDS  UP.  267 

ample  lawn,  with  graveled  paths  and  roadway. 
The  grounds  are  not  laid  out  like  any  others  in 
the  town.  The  buildings  are  not  shaded  by 
trees,  but  stand  open  to  the  air  and  sunlight. 
On  the  east,  north,  and  west  sides  of  the  grounds 
Mr.  Wentworth  planted  trees  of  many  kinds, 
and  in  all  sorts  of  odd  arrangements.  These 
trees  have  flourished  vigorously,  and  now  the 
grounds,  as  has  been  said,  are  very  pleasant 
and  attractive.  Even  Annis  Crab  can  not  find 
fault  with  them,  but  has  been  heard  quite  en- 
thusiastically to  say:  "They  are  just  'cute  and 
lovely." 

For  some  years  Mr.  Wentworth  and  his  in- 
valid wife  enjoyed  this  home.  He  called  it 
Mount  Hope.  This  was  not  for  a  reason  kin- 
dred to  that  which  Solomon  Whagg,  Esq.,  gave, 
when  asked  by  a  visitor  in  Rockton  why  one  of 
its  public  ways  was  called  Elm  Street.  Solomon 
heard  the  question  with  an  almost  expressionless 
gravity  on  his  face,  and  with  an  overpowering 
solemnity  of  tone  answered:  "Because  there  is 
a  row  of  maples  on  each  side  of  it!"  No  one 
can  tell  what  would  become  of  Rockton  were  it 
not  for  this  perpetrator  of  small  jokes.  Doubt- 
less he  is  all  the  more  popular  from  the  fact  that 
his  jokes  are  small.  If  they  were  big  or  exceed- 
ingly witty,  Rockton  might  not  understand 
them.  All  laugh  at  his  innocent  fun,  and  all 


268  ROCKTON. 

the  more,  perhaps,  because  they  can  not  tell 
why.  And  indeed  why  should  they?  There 
may  be  no  wit  in  what  he  said  of  another  street, 
yet  Rockton  laughs  at  it  to-day,  will  to-morrow, 
and  for  all  days  to  come.  It  was  at  a  town- 
meeting.  They  were  trying  to  fix  on  a  name 
for  a  street  which  had  just  been  accepted  as  a 
public  way.  Houses  had  been  built  upon  it 
nearly  its  whole  length.  Every  one  had  a  name 
for  it ;  but  when  votes  were  taken,  overwhelm- 
ing majorities  rejected  them  all.  Finally  Sol- 
omon arose,  and,  with  his  usual  ponderous  so- 
lemnity, proposed,  in  order  to  unite  all  factions 
and  please  everybody,  that  this  public  way  be 
named  "Green  Street."  It  went  through  with 
a  rush,  and  unanimously.  After  the  vote  was 
declared,  somebody  asked  Solomon  his  reason 
for  suggesting  this  name.  He  arose,  and  with- 
out a  semblance  of  a  smile,  answered:  "Because 
no  one  of  that  name  ever  lived  on  it."  "Green 
Street"  is  painted  upon  the  signs  on  its  coiners, 
but  all  the  "old-timers"  still  call  it  "Solomon's 
Joke." 

To  return.  Mr.  Wentworth  was  not  trying 
to  be  funny  when  he  named  his  charming  little 
estate  Mount  Hope,  but  was  giving  expression 
to  a  great  love.  Hope  is  the  baptismal  name 
of  the  noble,  cultured  woman  who  graced  it. 
She  objected  to  its  use,  but  love  prevailed. 


THE  DAY  WINDS  UP.  269 

It  has  been  said  that  Mrs.  Wentworth  is  an 
invalid,  and  the  sorrowful  truth  is  that  robust 
health  will  never  bless  her  frail  body.  Her  in- 
firmities at  length  forced  a  flitting  to  a  more 
genial  climate.  For  some  years,  it  has  been  a 
well-known  and  universally  lamented  fact  that 
she  will  never  return  for  a  long  stay  at  Mount 
Hope ;  and  at  the  time  this  story  opened  Mr. 
Wentworth  had  given  orders  for  its  sale. 

When  the  J.  Q.'s  made  their  appearance  on 
this  Thursday  afternoon,  there  were  no  signs  of 
life  about  the  premises  except  that  a  horse  at- 
tached to  a  light  express-wagon  was  standing  in 
the  shed  connected  with  the  stable.  The  boys 
dropped  down  on  the  rustic  chairs  and  benches 
on  the  east  side  of  the  grounds,  from  which 
they  could  see  the  front  of  the  cottage,  with  its 
closed  doors  and  blinds.  It  was  a  delightful 
place  to  rest.  Home  was  at  hand.  The  after- 
noon sunlight  was  flooding  all  their  beloved 
Rockton,  and  blessing  Northville  in  particular, 
with  its  unstinted  opulence.  Behind  them  was 
the  day,  with  its  rare  enjoyments;  beside  them 
the  harmless  body  of  the  bay  lynx,  and  they 
were  happy.  Happy?  They  overflowed  with 
irrepressible  joyousness.  James,  in  the  exuber- 
ance of  his  raptures,  cried,  nay,  shrieked  out: 
"O,  but  hasn't  this  just  been  a  boss  day!" 
He  threw  up  his  hat,  kicked  his  heels  in 


270  ROCKTON. 

air,  and  tumbled  backwards  off  the  bench  to 
the  great  peril  of  his  neck.  When  he  had 
shame-facedly  righted  himself,  and  the  laughter 
of  his  mates  over  his  involuntary  summerset 
had  subsided,  all  fell  to  admiring  the  place. 
Adolphus  said  he  wished  he  might  own  it  when 
he  came  to  set  up  for  himself.  Likewise  said 
Edward,  James,  and  Benjamin.  Bernard  had 
got  beyond  wishing.  He  said:  " I  just  mean  to 
buy  it  when  I  get  to  be  a  man."  The  flood- 
gates were  opened.  They  talked  and  romanced 
into  much  enthusiasm,  if  not  to  their  hearts' 
content.  Finally,  it  was  agreed  upon  that  it 
should  be  the  object  of  each  of  The  Jolly  Quin- 
tet to  own  and  live  at  Mount  Hope.  Standing 
together  and  clasping  hands,  they  laughingly 
made  the  compact  that  he  of  their  number  who 
should  succeed  in  this  purpose,  should  celebrate 
it  by  a  grand  entertainment,  and  invite  his 
mates  and  their  friends. 

Some  things  occur  suddenly.  Some  things 
are  so  very  abruptly  sudden  in  their  occurrence 
as  to  cause  speechless  astonishment.  So  it  hap- 
pened to  this  ring  of  covenanting  boys.  They 
heard  a  slight  noise  in  the  direction  of  the 
house.  They  looked,  and  lo!  the  front  door 
opened,  and  out  of  it  came  Sarah  Holt,  followed 
closely  by  Jabez  Long,  Abraham  Clark,  and  Sol- 
omon Whagg,  Esq.  Grand  tableau !  Five  boys, 


THE  DAY  WINDS  UP.  271 

with  round,  bulging  eyes,  wide-open  mouths, 
and — speechless!  How  long?  Well,  for  boys, 
relatively  quite  long.  Actually,  before  this  new 
party  could  cross  the  lawn,  they  were  cheering 
themselves  hoarse. 

"It  is  like  having  our  fun  all  over  again," 
said  Adolphus,  when  greetings  had  been  ex- 
changed. 

The  new-comers  each  asked  questions,  and 
the  boys,  all  at  once,  tried  to  tell  the  story  of 
the  day.  Solomon  inquired  where  they  got  their 
"big  tom-cat,"  and  cracked  innumerable  small 
jokes,  which  kept  the  boys  in  an  uproar.  But 
a  stranger  story  than  that  of  their  fishing,  the 
big  pickerel,  or  the  whopping  big  lynx,  was  told 
by  this  sober-faced  punster.  Wonderful!  He 
said  : 

"  Mr.  Jabez  Long,  our  estimable  friend,  has 
bought  Mount  Hope." 

Who  could  believe  it?  In  chorus  they  ap- 
pealed to  Mr.  Long.  He  replied : 

"  I  suppose  so ;  that  is,  if  my  check  is  not 
refused  when  the  papers  are  ready." 

"  Yes,  Mr.  Long  is  in  immediate  prospect  of 
being  the  proud  owner  of  this  delightful  estab- 
lishment," reaffirmed  Mr.  Whagg. 

Thus  it  was  ;  Mr.  Wentworth,  the  day  before 
had  dropped  into  Mr.  Long's  store  (they  are 
great  friends),  and  in  the  course  of  their  com vr- 


272  ROCKTON. 

sation  the  fact  that  the  place  was  for  sale  was 
mentioned.  Mr.  Long  said  he  had  often  wished 
that  he  could  afford  to  buy  it.  Whereupon  Mr. 
Wentworth  began  to  urge  him  to  do  so.  He 
said  he  would  rather,  by  many  dollars,  he  should 
own  it  than  have  it  go  to  a  stranger.  Finally, 
he  named  an  astonishingly  low  price,  to  which 
he  added  two  conditions,  which  were  that  the 
name  should  not  be  changed,  and  that  if  his 
wife's  health  allowed,  he  should  occupy  the 
house  two  weeks  in  the  summer.  Mr.  Long 
thus  bought  the  estate  for  a  little  more  than 
half  its  market  value.  He  had  come  up,  while 
the  boys  were  tugging  the  lynx  homeward,  to 
look  the  house  through,  and  see  what  condition 
the  furniture  was  in,  this  being  included  in  his 
purchase.  When  Sol&mon  Whagg  called  for 
him,  Miss  Sarah  was  in  the  store,  also  Abra- 
ham Clark,  a  good-natured  young  man,  who  a 
few  months  previous  had  opened  a  provision 
store  near  the  "  Emporium,"  and  who  was 
fast  winning  the  good  graces  of  the  people  of 
Northville. 

Mr.  Whagg  said  that  some  woman  ought  to 
go  along  with  them,  and  see  if  the  moths  and 
Buffalo  bugs  had  left  anything  of  carpets,  cur- 
tains, or  upholsterings.  As  Mrs.  Walters  was 
needed  to  wait  on  customers,  Miss  Holt  volun- 
teered her  services,  and  this  brought  Mr.  Clark 


THE  DAY  WINDS  UP.  273 

to  the  front,  who  offered  to  drive  up  with  her  if 
she  did  not  object  to  his  delivery  wagon.  That 
she  did  not,  explains  how  she  came  to  appear  in 
the  company  that  so  suddenly  appeared  to  the 
boys. 

It  may  as  well  be  recorded  that  the 
moths  and  bugs  had  spared  the  carpets, 
and  other  properties  in  the  house.  So  Mr. 
Long's  new  cottage  was  furnished  very  neatly 
throughout,  and  all  this  he  had  "  bought  for 
a  song,"  he  said.  "  And  will  be  every  dol- 
lar paid  for  next  week,"  chimed  in  Mr.  Whagg 
ponderously. 

Lest  it  may  be  forgotten,  it  may  be  said  that 
Solomon  Whagg,  Esq.,  as  the  title  indicates,  is 
a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  devotes  much  of  his 
valuable  services  to  the  drawing  of  various  legal 
documents  for  his  fellow-townsmen.  He  also 
has  a  real  estate  agency,  "  conducted,"  as  he  af- 
firms, "  in  a  mild  way."  This  information  will 
account  for  his  presence  in  the  transfer  of  the 
Mount  Hope  estate. 

A  doleful  insistence  from  Benjamin  that  he 
was  perishing  for  something  to  eat  turned  the 
attention  of  all  homeward.  Mr.  Clark  protested 
that  he  should  fail  of  his  duty  if  he  did  not 
drive  Miss  Holt  across  to  Ridge  Street,  and  Mr. 
Armour  informed  him  that  he  was  at  liberty  to 
do  so  if  the  wild-cat  was  put  in  the  back  of  the 


274  ROCKTON. 

wagon  to  watch  them!  It  was  agreed  this 
should  be  done ;  Mr.  Clark  claiming  the  priv- 
ilege of  exhibiting  the  lynx  in  his  store  win- 
dow that  evening  and  the  next  day  ;  and  agreeing 
to  deliver  it  at  Mr.  Holt's  barn  very  early  Saturday 
morning.  As  he  drove  down  the  hill,  Bernard's 
sharp  eyes  saw  something  beside  the  lynx  which 
looked  like  straw,  and  he  also  noticed  that  Mr. 
Armour  had  nothing  but  his  bundle  of  fishing- 
rods  to  carry. 

Down  the  hill  went  the  men  and  boys — no, 
boys  and  men.  When  the  street  leading  up  to 
Mr.  Holt's  big  barn  was  reached,  Edward  and 
James  turned  into  it.  Not  many  minutes  after, 
Mr.  Armour  stood  at  the  corner  of  the  street  on 
which  he  then  had  lodgings.  Looking  quizzically 
at  young  Walters,  he  said :  "  Bernard,  when 
you  fix  on  the  time  for  your  entertainment  of  the 
J.  Q.'s  at  Mount  Hope,  I  shall  expect  the  first 
invitation."  Mr.  Long  was  seized  with  a  sudden 
fit  of  coughing  that  sent  the  blood  to  his  face 
until  it  was  as  red  as  the  scarlet  flannel  he 
sells.  Mr.  Whagg  winked  his  eyes  in  his  sol- 
emn face  for  all  the  world  like  an  owl  blinking 
in  the  sun,  while  Bernard  looked  up  at  Mr.  Ar- 
mour with  a  guileless  smile,  and  replied :  "  It 
will  be  a  long  time  till  then,  but  I  will  invite 
you  now." 

"  Bless  the  little  innocent !  How  unsuspecting 


THE  DAY  WINDS  UP.  275 

and  ignorant  it  is  !"  chuckled  Mr.  \Vhagg,  which 
remark  set  Mr.  Armour  and  Mr.  Long  off  into 
mem-  peals  of  laughter,  and  sent  Bernard  trot- 
ting home  in  wonderment  to  ask  his  mother 
what  it  all  meant. 


CHAPTER  XYI. 

A  DAY  AND  ANOTHER  DAY  AFTER. 

*rwv 

FRIDAY  generally  follows  Thursday,  and 
Friday  dawned  bright  and  clear  out  of 
the  night  of  what  to  the  J.  Q.'s  will  ever  be 
known  as  "  That  Thursday."  At  recess 
Miss  Barber  got  them  all  around  her,  and 
•  listened  to  their  story  of  its  adventures  and 
pleasures.  It  was  talked  over  at  least  at  five 
dinner -tables,  where  fish  were  eaten,  not  be- 
cause it  was  Friday,  but  because  there  were 
fish  to  eat. 

There  were  two  guests  who  dined  at  Mr. 
Holt's ;  it  is  almost  needless  to  say  they  were 
Mr.  Armour  and  Mr.  Long.  There  were  sly 
jokes  about  "  wild-cat  schemes,"  and  others 
of  like  nature  from  the  latter,  replied  to  by 
the  former  in  obscure  but  apparently  tell- 
ing references  to  "  Mount  Hope,"  and  a 
"  Mount  of  Promise ;"  but  it  was  all  Greek  to 

Edward. 

276 


A  DAY  AND  ANOTHER  DAY  AFTER.     277 

The  dinner  was  served  late,  and  before  it 
was  ended  he  had  to  leave  for  school,  where,  just 
before  it  opened,  he  met  the  rest  of  the  J.  Q.'s, 
who  smacked  their  lips  and  bragged  of  perch. 
This  time  he  would  not  be  outdone,  or  out- 
bragged.  He  wiped  his  mouth  with  a  con- 
tented and  superior  air,  and  said:  "I  believe 
baked  pickerel  is  better  than  perch  any  day." 
This  proved  "a  squelcher,"  and  especially  so 
for  Benjamin,  who  longed  for  baked  pickerel  all 
the  afternoon. 

It  .must  have  been  that  Edward's  ears  burned 
as  he  ran  to  school,  for  the  door  of  the  dining- 
room  hardly  closed  behind  him  when  he  be- 
came the  theme  of  conversation  for  those  who 
remained.  Mrs.  Holt  thanked  Mr.  Armour  for 
his  interest  in  her  son,  and  spoke  of  the  great 
change  in  his  general  conduct  about  the  house  ; 
his  thoughtfulness  for  others  even  in  little 
things,  and  his  more  studious  and  quiet  ways. 
To  all  this  Mr.  Armour  replied  that  the  chief 
influences  molding  the  character  of  Edward 
were  to  be  found  where  they  ought,  in  his  par- 
ents and  home ;  and  that  what  he  had  done  to 
please  the  boys  had  been  far  more  of  a  pleasure 
to  himself.  Mr.  Holt  joined  heartily  in  the 
thanks;  but  said  he  had  thought  that  possibly 
the  singling  out  of  a  few  boys  from  among  the 
large  number  in  Northville  might  be  misunder- 


278  ROCKTON. 

stood  by  some.  To  this  Mr.  Armour  assented 
in  part,  but  said  he  had  it  in  mind  to  use  the 
five  boys  for  the  good  of  others,  and  intended  as 
he  could  find  opportunity  to  make  the  J.  Q.'s  a 
center  around  which  he  could  gather  many  boys 
for  their  amusement  and  profit. 

Miss  Sarah  spoke  of  the  greatly  increased  in- 
terest Edward  was  showing  in  his  studies,  and 
of  his  all-round  growth  even  in  the  short  time 
The  Quintet  had  had  a  history.  Mr.  Long 
thought  this  was  good  evidence  that  boys  could 
get  better  very  fast,  and  wished  it  was  true  of 
men. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  on  "That  Thurs- 
day "  morning  Josephus  was  left  in  Mr.  Holt's 
barn.  It  will  also  be  equally  well  remembered 
that  Mr.  Armour  went  from  Mount  Hope  di- 
rectly to  his  lodgings.  It  is  a  fair  inference  that 
after  supper  he  took  a  stroll  in  the  direction  of 
Ridge  Street;  for  how  else  could  he  and  Mr. 
Long  have  ridden  behind  Josephus  when  they 
came  to  dinner?  They  went  away  some  time 
after  it  was  over,  in  the  same  manner. 

Quite  early  on  Saturday  morning  James 
Mears  saw  Josephus  hitched  to  a  top  buggy,  and 
standing*  by  the  post  before  Mr.  Holt's  barn  ; 
but  he  did  not  see  what  Edward  saw,  which 
was  something  in  a  bag  in  the  hind  part  of  the 
buggy.  Neither  did  Edward  see  some  other 


A  DAY  AND  ANOTHER  DAY  AFTER.     279 

things ;  for  after  he  had  started  down  the  street 
oil  an  errand,  his  sister  Sarah  came  out  of  the 
house  in  her  newest  bonnet  and  her  sweetest 
smile,  and  got  into  the  buggy,  followed  by  Mr. 
Armour.  And,  then,  away  went  Josephus  to- 
ward the  great  city,  which  boasts  of  the  before- 
mentioned  Natural  History  Rooms.  What  for? 
Well,  who  knows?  But  this  is  certain,  whoever 
now  enters  these  rooms  may  see  in  a  large  glass 
case,  a  very  formidable  looking  creature  with  a 
stub-tail,  open  mouth,  and  glaring  eyes ;  and  all 
who  may  desire  information  concerning  the 
same,  can  see  a  card  between  its  forepaws,  on 
which — the  card  and  not  the  paws — is  very 
legibly  written  the  following :  "  L.  rufus,  Bay 
Lynx,  or  Bob-cat,  shot  May  — th,  A.  D.  188-,  by 

H.  A.,  in  Rockton,  M ." 

It  will  not  do  to  give  the  real  name  of  the 
city  herein  called  Blankopolis,  where  this  "finest 
specimen "  may  be  found.  Were  this  done, 
some  shrewd  hunter  of  particulars  would  quite 
likely  be  off  instanlcr  to  visit  its  justly  cele- 
brated Natural  Histoiy  Rooms,  and  thus  be 
able  to  fix  the  exact  location  of  the  hazel-eyed 
man  who  shot  the  lynx.  Then  there  would  be 
trouble !  His  awful  modesty,  and  more  to  be 
dreaded  spunk,  would  be  aroused.  Then  this 
veritable  history  would  be  suppressed  before  tin- 
first  edition  could  be  sold.  Then  the  later  his- 


280 


ROCKTON. 


tory  of  the  J.  Q.'s  and  their  friends,  the  ro- 
mance of  Annis  Crab,  the  entertainment  of 
Bernard,  and  the  account  of  many  surprising 
surprises,  and  amusing  amusements  could  not 
be  written. 


THE   END. 


